Timeliness in the Adoptive Placement of Photolisted Children: The New York State Blue Books

This study uses information from the New York State (NYS) Adoption Photolisting Service, the Blue Books, to determine the characteristics of the hardest-to-place children, factors related to timeliness in the adoptive placement of listed children, and the efficacy of photolisting updates in impacting placement probabilities. The data for this study consist of computerized records on all children photolisted in NYS from 1976 to 1997. Results indicate that children experiencing significant delays in placement are more likely to be male, black, older at first listing, have mild or severe psychological problems or multiple problems requiring total care and to have strong emotional ties to nonadopting adults in their lives. Members of sibling groups listed in the Blue Books are placed more quickly. Even after controlling for time dependency and unobserved heterogeneity, results indicate that updating a photolisting has no significant impact on increasing a child's probability of placement. Implications of study findings for administrative practice are discussed.