US Department of State releases inter-country adoption report 2010

Last week the US Department of State released its annual report on inter-country adoption for fiscal year 2010.

The trend of declining numbers of inter-country adoption continued even when the 1090 children from Haiti for whom a Special Humanitarian Parole was granted are included in the statistics. In 2010, 12,149 children were adopted from abroad (11,059 excluding the children from Haiti who entered the country under the Special Humanitarian Parole). In 2009 the total number of inter-country adoptions in 2009 was 12,756, while the US at its peak, imported 22,972 children in 2004.

The decline of inter-country adoption is most notable when looking at the Russian figures. The number of adoptions has dropped under 1,000, while in 2004, still 5,862 Russian children were adopted by American citizens. This figure is unlikely to bounce back in the near future, given the ongoing problems with abuse of Russian children in American adoptive families.

Adoptions from China showed a 13% increase in 2010, remaining the number one sending country, with 3401 children. At its peak, in 2005, China sent 7,903 children to the United States.

Guatemala's actions to close its borders early 2008, also has a significant impact on the dwindling numbers of inter-country adoptions. In 2010 only 51 children were adopted from Guatemala, while at its peak, in 2007, the country was exporting 4,727 children to the US.

South Korea, for years a steady supply of adoptable infants for the American market, despite being a rich country, has seen its exports drop to 863 (from an all time high of 1,862 in 2001).

The South Korean trend is somewhat countered by another rich Asian country, Taiwan, which in 2000 was still an insignificant sending country with only 28 adoptions. In 2010 that number has grown to 285, a tenfold increase in 10 ten years.

2010, showed another increase in adoptions from Ethiopia, which by now has firmly established its role as the second largest supplier of adoptable children. The East African country was only a small player in the early years of this century, with only 95 adoptions in 2000. In 2010, Ethiopia exported 2,513 children to the United States, which is a 100 percent increase compared to 2007. The increase of adoptions from Ethiopia takes place while more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more reports of child trafficking and other fraudulent and illegal adoption practices emerge.

Another trafficking paradise, Vietnam was solidly shut down in 2010, exporting only 9 children to the US. Though concern remains, since Vietnam was already closed down before in 2003, after which adoptions resumed in 2006, again leading to rampant corruption and illegal adoption practices.

Most other countries either remained more or less the same compared to the previous year or saw a decrease of inter-country adoptions. Two notable exceptions are Ghana and Nigeria which continue to send more and more children to the United States.

The annual report as published by the Department of State does not just present the number of adoption per sending country, but also presents the number of adoptions per state or territory, showing that Minnesotans are almost ten times more likely to adopt a child from abroad than Alaskans.

Not only the number of children imported from foreign countries are presented in the report, but also lists the exports to other countries. Canada and the Netherlands remain the largest recipients from American children, with Florida-based agency Advocates for Children and Families being the major supplier.

The annual report also lists the number of disruptions:

It is noteworthy to state that these are disruptions, not dissolutions, so the termination of the adoption took place before finalization. The number of adoption dissolutions is unknown but much higher than the number of disruptions.

The two cases in Mississippi never made the news even though children died in their adoptive homes. This is certainly something PPL will follow up on.