Not knowing what South Dakota has in the way of services and rules I'll just mention things that were helpful.  I would also suggest contacting Family Builders by Adoption for further support.  They are a non profit adoption agency specializing in foster/adoption and permanent placements.  They now run the San Francisco adoption services.

-Post adoption services are critical. There are always things that come up long after you sign those papers and it is helpful to have someone to call.  We have services both through our agency and the county for our son.  I can call either one for help with anything.

-More support, education, etc for open adoptions.  It is one thing to talk about how it works, and the benefits for the child but parents need help navigating this, setting boundaries, etc If people are committed to seeing this happen then it needs to be tended.  It isn't enough to just say it is a good idea.  

- Expediting birth certificates.  In California it takes upto a year to get one.  Do you know how much that holds other things up?  Social security numbers for taxes, college funds, passports for traveling, etc.  

- Making sure that subsidies and services are there if they are needed. For me it has allowed me to work part time and be home with our son. For others I know it allows them to keep their jobs by offsetting the price of childcare.

I agree that closed adoption records should be open. Adoptees have a right to know their histories.

I'm in a private, open, domestic adoption, so that's what I'm going to write about.

• Laws do need to be uniform across state lines. Different laws in different states is more confusing and ends up costing more money.
• On the subject of money, agency and adoption professional fees need to be studied. Adoption can be incredibly expensive. The more money involved in an activity, the more chances there are for corruption, cutting corners, and coercion.
• Insurance companies must be required to pay expenses from the day a child is born, if his/her parents take custody in the first month of his/her life. All states have waiting periods between birth and the (birth) parents ability to sign the TPR. Insurance companies exploit this fact and refuse to pay expenses until the adoptive parents actually take custody. A newborn adoption should be treated exactly as a newborn biological situation.
• Counseling doesn't just need to be made available to the parties involved - there must be, at the very least, an incentive to use it. Counseling must be encouraged.
• SD should make it easier for people to finalize adoptions in the state in which they live. I know that's vague, but I'm not clear on SD's adoption policies.
• Training and resources should be made available for people adopting outside of their experience - be it race, culture, special needs, etc. I don't think that MEPA ever meant to be construed as "foster parents can't be told anything about racism and prejudice".

I'll have to disagree quite strongly that adoption subsidies are not needed.  State subsidies are quite a different matter than the federal adoption tax credit.  They are only given to people who adopt special needs children from the foster care system.  These subsidies are desperately needed in many cases.  Without subsidies, very few older children would be adopted, because their foster parents would not be able to pay for their needs if they were moved from foster to adoptive status.

I am not commenting on international or private adoption... but for foster-adoptive, here are some suggestions.

1) standardize across counties and improve interstate adoption.  Both adoptive parents and social workers often cite lack of communication in this area as a major barrier to placing special needs children.

2) when children are photolisted, make it easier to contact the social worker.  Have social workers actually call back when homestudies are submitted.

3) Read comments on this thread: http://adoptuskids.blogspot.com/2008/03/adoption-in-your-state.html

4) Many parents who have gone through the system comment that social workers often have unrealistic expectations for families.  Families tend to get ranked with two-parent, traditional, Christian couples at the top.  These attributes often trump more realistic attributes, like experience with special needs, such as autism.  Social workers need to get better training to realize unconventional strengths of families and not just rely on conventional social yardsticks, which are often quite deceiving.

5) I am not sure what you mean by "multi-racial adoption policies".  I don't feel equipped to comment because I know very little about South Dakota; I understand there is a large Native American presence there.  I do know several Native American parents who have gone through the system in other states.  The common thread from what they say is that working with tribes for adoptive placements has been 1000% easier and more efficient than working with county agencies. 

6) Improve post-adoption support for new parents of special needs children through peer groups and mentoring.  Talking to somebody who has done it before is more valuable than presentation-style training.

7) involve foster care alumni and seek their feedback; they know better than anyone else what's wrong with the system.

My suggestions:

Open adoption records in South Dakota.
Focus funding on programs to keep children with their families above all.
For adoptive parents, develop adoption preparation programs rather than offering adoption subsidies.

The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute has done research on a number of the issues you reference, and may be another source of information.

A good place to go for more information about best practices in adoption is ethicanet.org.  They have position papers and other info on all of these questions.