My Mom was a career Foster Mom for pre-adoptive infants. I've seen, first hand, how the social mores have changed the process over the last 40 years.

Late 60's - There was still a social stigma associated with out of wedlock births. Most babies then were clean, healthy and cleared for adoption in well under 6mos. Identities of everyone involved were protected from each other.

Late 80's - The expectation became that it was wrong to voluntarily give an infant up for adoption. Infants then entering foster care are mostly involuntarily taken by the court for cause. Of those many are born with severe drug addictions and other related health problems.

The process having become adversarial, now takes much longer. With little effort, the mother, can tie up the release of a child well past the infant stage. 6mos becomes the minimum, and can take much longer. A year or more.

Not only do the welfare agencies have to clear the adoption with the mother, but they also have to secure releases from just about every close relative available. Then the father, if he comes forward, can at the last minuet, reset the whole process, or even wind up battling the mother.

Truly "children in foster care" != "babies up of adoption".

Yet I will disagree. There is a definite preference for the adaption of infants over children.