Homeward bound

Adoption: Ten years after landmark bill, tens of thousands more children find permanent families | Jamie Dean

Zachary, an active little boy from Tennessee, turns 10 in November, which is also National Adoption Awareness Month. But Zachary is already well aware of adoption: As a foster child who needs a permanent home, his profile and picture are featured on the Tennessee Department of Children's Services website, along with other foster children waiting to be adopted.

Zachary is one of more than half a million children currently in the foster-care system in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Caseworkers aim eventually to reunite nearly half of those children with their families or principal caretakers.

Another 80,000 children will enter long-term foster care or live with relatives or a guardian. That leaves more than 100,000 children in the foster-care system available for adoption each year. DHHS estimates that about half will find permanent homes.