Michelle Madrid-Branch, a child of adoption, feels it in her heart.

Brian Sanderoff, president of Research and Polling, proved it.

New Mexicans are pro-adoption. Research shows 95 percent have a positive attitude about adoption, 36 percent have considered adoption and 55 percent of those surveyed in the north-central region, which includes Santa Fe, have been touched by adoption.

"We're encouraged that overall people are open to adopt as a way of expanding and enhancing their family," said Madrid-Branch, who founded the Adoption Means Love, or AML, Foundation.

Most significant, say the pollsters, is that 82 percent of those surveyed see adoption as a natural option and only 8 percent view it as "a last resort."

The AML Foundation commissioned the research, which surveyed 524 New Mexico adults in February to learn how it can be more effective in linking children with what Madrid-Branch calls "forever families."

There are still obstacles to adoption, including: Price for overseas adoptions; the time it takes to move New Mexico's 2,200 children out of the foster care system; misconceptions about information a family or individual needs when considering adoption.

Still, some 21 percent people living in Northern New Mexico say they are likely to adopt a child, 55 percent in our area know someone with an adopted child and 12 percent have adopted a child.

Birth heritage is not a deciding factor for the majority polled: 72 percent would be likely to adopt a child whose birth heritage is different from theirs. Madrid-Branch can attest to this. She is of British and Spanish descent and her husband, Jeff, is Hispanic. One of their sons, 3-year-old Ian, is from Russia. "Family has little to do with biology and everything to do with love," she says.

Not surprising to Children Youth and Family Department officials, people prefer to adopt infants (71 percent) and toddler to preschool-age children (58 percent). Interest drops as children become school-age (44 percent) or have disabilities (30 percent). More people turn to the Internet (8 percent) for adoption information, which CYFD has taken as a challenge to improve its Web site.

The AML Foundation's Family Building Fund provides post-adoption support to make sure parents have support for even the most difficult adoptions. Last year, 68 New Mexico adoptions failed.

Though people who would chose to adopt are altruistic, saying children need good families, Madrid-Branch sees that as an opportunity to change the message for adoption advocates.

"It's also a benefit for the parent," she says. "You can't go through the adoption process, not be transformed and come out on the other end a better person."

Like Taos' Dr. Larry Schreiber, who was honored at an AML function last month, 58 percent of those who say they would chose adoption would adopt siblings.

Schreiber, the father of 14 children, adopted three children from Cambodia.

"I just couldn't break up the family," he said.

AML's goal is to make New Mexico an example of opportunity for children seeking their forever families — and have rolled out a new message: Isn't it time to grow your family?

For more information on AML services, contact Dennis Hudson at 474-5211.

Billie Blair, president of the Santa Fe Community Foundation, can be reached at bblair@santafecf.org