A Demographic Perspective on Childhood Adoptions in the U.S.

Mary Ann Davis - International Handbook on the Demography of Marriage and the Family

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the U.S. as the nation with the largest number of adoptions. Although adoptions represent a small portion of family growth, from a demographer’s point of view they are worth investigating. The United Nations (2009:xv) estimates that approximately 260,000 children are adopted annually through intercountry adoptions (ICAs). In 2001, the country leading in ICAs was the United States (U.S.) adopting 127,000 children. Next in frequency is China, with 46,000 adoptions, followed by the Russian Federation, with 23,000 adoptions. Selman (2016) reports that in the decade from 2004 to 2014 there were 331,364 ICAs with 159,778 received in the U.S. Interestingly, intercountry adoptions (ICAs) are declining, which can be attributed to multiple factors, such as the reconstruction of global politics, The Hague Conference regulations, and of course, the economic conditions in both sending and receiving countries. Selman (2016), using United Nations data, reported that from 2004 to 2014 intercountry adoption declined from 45,383 with 22,884 received in the U.S during 2004.; to 13,254 in 2014 (excluding non-reporting Italy and Israel) with 6441 received in the U.S.