Newswise — Adoption law is an area of research economists seldom visit. But American University economics professor Mary Hansen dug in. While researching adoption in Washington, D.C., she encountered a puzzling practice: Families of foster children in the District received subsidies until age 21, but for an adopted child subsidies ended when the child turned 18.
After testifying twice before the D.C. Council’s Committee on Human Services, Hansen helped pass a subsidy extension for adopted children that matches the level for foster children.
Hansen said, “If you know you can get a subsidy for three additional years and you know this child is going to be in your house for three additional years or you’re pretty sure they are, then obviously you prefer not to adopt this child, even though it’s pretty clear from the data that kids who are adopted do better. They get more education; they’re more likely to be attached to the labor force; they’re less likely to rely on welfare benefits, food stamps; they are less likely to wind up in jail.”
After much research, it took Hansen, a child welfare policy and economic history expert, who is adopted herself, to point out this practice in the District, in part she says because the law is sometimes confusing.
“It’s not always clear politicians know what the laws are so when you point it out that there’s this conflict [they’re surprised]. Because a lot of times one piece of the law will be altered or the government will change one regulation and not adopt another regulation.”
How did an economics professor get interested in adoption law?
Several years ago Hansen and her husband were in the process of their first adoption when they started to learn about policies and to ask questions like, how effective is this? How many families are incentivized? Hansen points to this experience as leading her towards her research interest, “When we realized that the answers weren’t out there we said, well, we know how to find this out so let’s find this out.”
While her work has helped many children and prospective families, her work is especially significant during November’s National Adoption Month.
As she reflects on adoption, Hansen says, “What I think it does for people is it makes you think what family means in broader terms. So I didn’t really think of family as being biological in any particular way. Family is about commitment. Your family is the set of people with whom you are committed.”
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