New Adoption Data Report from Child Welfare Information Gateway
3/7/2012
Noting there is no single source or straightforward way of determining the total number of adoptions in the U.S., Child Welfare Information Gateway has released a report titled How Many Children Were Adopted in 2007 and 2008? The report gives the best estimates of total adoptions in 2007 and 2008 and summarizes data collected from a variety of sources, including state courts and bureaus of vital records, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Approximately 136,000 children were adopted each year in both 2007 and 2008. Of these adoptions, approximately 40 percent were completed by public agencies, 13 to 14 percent were intercountry adoptions, and the remainder, nearly half of the total, were from other sources such as private agencies or Tribal, facilitated, independent, and stepparent adoptions.
