Adoptee Well-Being Is a Lifelong Matter of Public Health - Not Just a Family Story
November is National Adoption Awareness Month - a time to celebrate the diverse ways families are created and to increase visibility for all touched by adoption.
Being adopted is not a single moment in time; it is a lifelong identity. It shapes how individuals understand belonging, health, and self across every stage of life. Yet despite this reality, our healthcare systems, workplaces, and data infrastructures often overlook the unique needs of adoptees - leaving millions without the informed support they deserve.
I should know. I am adopted.
A Hidden Population in Our Health Data
Across the United States, roughly one in ten adults identifies as adopted (Dave Thomas Foundation survey). Yet adoptees remain invisible in population-level health data because “Are you adopted?” is rarely asked on intake forms. In fact, I just had a physical at Brown Health and during my visit, I trained my provider on how to check the “adopted” box in the Epic Systems electronic health records. This was their first time, and they are excited to continue to ask and document so that we have been data when it comes to adoptees.
Without this simple data point, we cannot measure or respond to adoptee-specific health trends, despite research showing adoptees are four times more likely to attempt suicide and twice as likely to develop a substance use disorder as their non-adopted peers, according to the National Institutes of Health.
In healthcare, adoptees often lack access to complete family medical histories, creating diagnostic blind spots that can lead to both missed illnesses and unnecessary anxiety. Without accurate data collection, healthcare providers are left without the tools to address this population’s distinct mental and physical health needs.
To build a culture of well-being, healthcare systems must begin collecting adoption-related data - confidentially, respectfully, and with adoptee voices guiding the process.
Workplace Well-Being: Beyond Financial Benefits
In recent years, many employers have expanded adoption benefits, offering stipends to help offset the costs of the process. While this marks important progress for growing families, it leaves a critical gap unaddressed: the ongoing mental and emotional well-being of adoptees and adoptive families after the paperwork is complete.
Each year, the Dave Thomas Foundation publishes a list of top adoption-friendly workplaces - will your company make the 2026 list?
Adoption carries lifelong questions, identity complexities, and moments of grief that can resurface through major life transitions - graduations, relationships, parenthood, or loss. These experiences don’t stay at home; they show up in the workplace, influencing engagement, focus, and mental health.
If employers are truly committed to supporting the whole person, well-being benefits must extend beyond financial assistance to include emotional and identity support for adoptees and their families. The return on investment is clear: when employees feel seen, supported, and understood, they bring their best selves to work.
That means integrating specialized resources - like the Adoptee Identity well-being platform - into employee assistance programs, mental-health stipends, and corporate wellness plans. It means creating psychological safety for adopted employees and those raising adoptees, ensuring workplaces foster understanding and belonging, not isolation.
Centering Adoptees in Policy and Practice
The path forward requires that we stop treating adoption as an endpoint and start understanding it as an evolving identity.
Healthcare systems must collect better data to identify patterns, outcomes, and needs among adoptees.
Researchers and policymakers must include adoptees in population health studies and mental-health research.
Employers incorporate adoptee well-being into employee assistance and mental health benefit programs - ensuring that support extends beyond financial adoption aid to emotional and identity care.
Adoption changes lives, but its impact doesn’t end at childhood. Supporting adoptees across their lifespan isn’t just compassionate; it’s a public health imperative.
Join me in refocusing the conversation this November.
