Adam Pertman

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. 

This article is adapted from an earlier piece that ran in the San Jose Mercury News. By Adam Pertman and Graham Wright It is heartening to hear that California’s Legislature may finally address the chronic overuse of psychotropic medications for children in foster care in that state, a problem that unfortunately exists from coast to coast.

By Adam Pertman The federal government, with support from nearly every state, has provided significant funding and resources for over three decades to promote adoptions from foster care. The consequence has been a huge leap in the number of children moving from insecurity into permanency, from about 211,000 in FY 1988-1997 (an average of 21,000 annually) to 524,496 in the 10-year reporting period ending in FY2012 (over 52,000 annually).

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.