This report presents data on the total number of adoptions in the United States as well as the number of public, intercountry, and other adoptions. Data for this report were obtained from multiple sources, including State courts, State departments of social services, State bureaus of vital records, and the Federal Government. This report primarily presents data from 2008 to 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. It also includes data from 2001 and 2005, which were included in two previous iterations of this report, to serve as a way to show trends beyond 5 years.
The following are key findings from this report:
- 119,514 children were adopted in the United States in 2012. This is a 14% decrease (20,133) from the 139,647 children adopted in 2008, and a 15% decrease (20,520) from the 140,034 children adopted in 2001.
- The adoption rate per 100,000 adults (i.e. persons 18 years and older who became adoptive parents) has decreased since 2001. The rate was 65 in 2001, 60 in 2008, and 49 in 2012.
- The number of public agency adoptions fluctuated slightly between 2001 and 2012. Between 2001 (49,945) and 2012 (52,042), public adoptions increased 4% (2,097), but more recently, between 2008 (55,264) and 2012, public adoptions decreased 6% (3,222).
- The number of intercountry adoptions continues to decline. In 2012, U.S. citizens adopted 8,650 children from foreign countries. The number of intercountry adoptions decreased by 10,957 (56%) from 2001 (19,647) to 2012 (8,668) and by 8,766 (50%) from 2008 (17,456) to 2012.
- Nearly half of all adoptions were from other sources (i.e. not public or intercountry) throughout all of the years studied. For example, adoptions from other sources (e.g., private agencies, Tribes, stepparent) accounted for 50% of all adoptions in 2001, 48% in 2008, and 49% in 2012.
File
