ABSTRACT
Recognizing that handbook readers will be greatly varied in prior knowledge about adoption, this initial chapter provides basic contextual information about adoption in the US. Informal and formal, historical and contemporary adoption practices are reviewed. The distinctions between public and private, domestic and international, and open and closed adoptions are described. The most recent statistical information on adoptions and adoptees is presented. The most current prominent topics and controversies in the field of adoption (openness, transracial adoption, international adoption, adoptions by LGBTQ people, and inequality in reproductive options) are discussed. The chapter concludes with an identification of emerging areas of research and practice.
