Recently the US Department of State released statistics on international adoption in 2011. According to the report US citizens adopted 9,320 children from foreign countries, which is a 15 decrease from 2010.
This is a continuation of a descending trend since 2004, when US families adopted over 22,000 children from foreign countries. The report said that the number of internationally adopted children in the US has dropped steadily each year since.
“This trend is not right, and it is not good for children. Given the increasing number of orphaned children worldwide, the continued decline in intercountry adoptions means that children’s most basic needs and rights are being denied,” Chuck Johnson, the president and CEO of the National Council for Adoption (NCFA) said in the report. “As intercountry adoption programs close or decrease in number, more and more children remain in institutions and temporary care situations, aging out without ever securing their basic right to a permanent loving family of their own.”
According to the report, South Korea, Uganda and India were the three countries with the most adoptions by American families in 2011 with 734, 196, and 168 respectively.
The report also broke down how many American families in each state adopted internationally. 450 families in New York state finalized their adoptions abroad, which was third most to California, which had 469 families finalize their adoptions abroad, and Texas, which had 482.
There have been several scandalous reports of abuse and fraud throughout the adoption process in several countries, which may have an impact on the decline in international adoptions. While the report condemns these allegations and stresses the importance to prevent such abuses, it states “adoption process abuses are the exception and not the rule, and should not be exaggerated at the expense of the millions of children who still await love, safety and permanency.”