Donaldson Adoption Institute

The Donaldson Adoption Institute, a national adoption research organization based in New York City, has closed its doors after more than 20 years. The institute has “decided to wind down its operations,” said Donaldson CEO April Dinwoodie, in a personal statement posted online. 

The concept of ‘openness’ in adoption has often been associated with the private adoption of infants. Although the bulk of research on openness has largely focused on this type of adoption, increasingly today researchers and practitioners are considering how openness can be a part of all types of adoptions.

In today’s world, many people still believe the best way to incorporate cultural and racial differences is to ignore that they even exist — a misguided attempt to be a colorblind society.

2016 could be the first year that America has clear, nationwide information about the success rate of adoptions from foster care. But the game plan for tracking this at the federal level might not capture the whole story; maybe not even half of it.

Leaders at the New York-based Donaldson Adoption Institute (DAI) and its former CEO, Adam Pertman, all declined to discuss what exactly they disagreed upon regarding the future of the organization. But, it is clear that there was some disagreement at the institute, a leader in research on adoption practice and policy.

When Rhys Gardiner learned about the urgency with which older kids in foster care need loving families before they exit the system alone, she focused her adoption search toward youth on the brink of independence.