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.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Data from decennial and American Community Survey (ACS) do not include all children who are living with a stepparent, and they ask for the relationship to the householder. Importantly, data do not capture informal adoptions, common among cultural groups including Hispanics, blacks, and certain Native Americans who may view family relationships and adoption differently (Kreider and Lofquist 2010: 2).
- 2.
See the Hague Convention on the Rights of the Child http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx
- 3.
The top twelve receiving countries reporting intercountry adoption statistics to The Hague Convention reported 217 children received from the U.S. from 2005–2009.
- 4.
The full text of this convention adopted in 1995 is available online at: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.pdf&cid=69
- 5.
The data used in this section were made available by the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Data have been used with permission of the Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human Services, responsible for the collection and sharing of the data archive at Cornell University. Their agents or employees bear no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here (NDACN 2002: iii).
References
Baumle, A., & Compton, D. (2015). Legalizing LGBT families: How the law shapes parenthood. New York/London: New York University Press.
Bonilla-Silva, E. (2009). Racism without racists: Color-blind Racism and the persistence of racial inequality in America (4th ed.). Rowman and Littlefield: Lanham.
Brodzinsky, D. M., and the staff of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. (2006). Adoption by Lesbians and Gays: A National survey of adoption agency policies, practices, and attitudes. Retrieved May 30, 2009. http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/whowe/Gay%20and%20Lesbian%20Adoption1.html
Brooks, D., & Goldberg, S. (2001). Gay and Lesbian adoptive and foster care placements: Can they meet the needs of waiting children? Social Work, 46(2), 147–157.
Carp, E. W. (2002). A historic overview of American adoption. In E. W. Carp (Ed.), Adoption in America: Historical perspectives. University of Michigan Press.
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Stepparent adoption. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.
Child Welfare League of America. (2006). Who may adopt, be adopted, or place a child for adoption? Summary of state laws. Retrieved January 9, 2009. http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/partiesall.pdf
Davis, M. A. (2011). Children for families or families for children: The demography of adoption behavior in the U.S. Springer.
Gailey, C. W. (2000). Race, class and gender in intercountry adoption in the USA. In P. Selman (Ed.), Intercountry adoption: Developments, trends and perspectives (pp. 298–303). London: British Agencies for Adoption & Fostering.
Gates, G. J., Badgett, M. V. L., Chambers, K., & Macomber, J. (2007). Adoption and foster care by gay and lesbian parents in the United States. The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-Badgett-Macomber-Chambers-Final-Adoption-Report-Mar-2007.pdf.
Haugaard, J. J., & Hazan, C. (2003). Adoption as a natural experiment. Development and Psychopathology, 15(4), 909–926. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579403000427.
Hubin, D. C. (1999). Parental rights and due process. Journal of Law & Family Studies, 1(2), 123–150.
Kenyon, G. L., et al. (2003). Public adoption by Gay and Lesbian parents in North Carolina: Policy and practice. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 84(4), 571–575.
Kreider, R. M. (2003). Adopted children and stepchildren: United States census. Retrieved February 12, 2020, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/
Kreider, R. M., & Lofquist, D. A. (2010). Adopted children and stepchildren: Current population reports, P20–572, U.S. (p. 2014). Washington, DC: Census Bureau.
Maza, P. L. (1994). Adoption trends: 1944–75, Table 1, Child Welfare Research Notes, 9.
National Center for Lesbian Rights. (2008). Policy statements supporting adoption by gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. http://www.nclrights.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/07/Adoption-Policy-Statements-REVISED-04-02-2009.pdf
National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect 2002. AFCARS data and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) user’s guide and codebook for fiscal years 2000 to present. Ithaca: Family Life Development Center Cornell University.
National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect. (2016). AFCARS data: Family life development center. Cornell University, Ithaca New York.
Quiroz, P. A. (2007a). Adoption in a color-blind society. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
Quiroz, P. A. (2007b). Color-blind individualism, intercountry adoption and public policy. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 34(2), 57–68.
Ryan, S. D., Pearlmutter, S., & Groza, V. (2004). Coming out of the closet: Opening agencies to Gay and Lesbian adoptive parents. Social Work, 49(1), 85–95.
S.1382 – Every Child Deserves a Family Act114th Congress (2015–2016).
Scherman, R., Misca, G., Rotabi, K., & Selman, P. (2016). Global commercial surrogacy and international adoption: Parallels and differences. Adoption & Fostering, 40(1), 20–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308575915626376.
Schofield, G. (2002). The significance of a secure base: A psychological model of long term foster care. Child and Family Social Work, 7, 259–272.
Selman, P. (2002). Intercountry adoption in the New Millennium: The ‘Quiet Migration’ revisited. Population Research and Policy Review, 21, 205–225.
Selman, P. (2006). Trends in intercountry adoption: Analysis of data from 20 receiving countries, 1998–2004. Journal of Population Research, 23(2), 183–204.
Selman, P. (2015). Global Statistics for Intercountry adoption: Receiving states and states of origin 2003–2013. Retrieved December 13, 2019 from https://assets.hcch.net/docs/a8fe9f19-23e6-40c2-855e-388e112bf1f5.pdf
Simon, R., & Altstein, H. (2002). Adoption, race and identity. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Simmons, T., & Dye, J. L. (2003). Grandparents living with grandchildren: 2000. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-31.pdf.
Stacey, J., & Biblarz, T. J. (2001). (How) does the sexual orientation of parents matter? American Sociological Review, 66(2), 159–183.
Tritt, L. F. (2009). Sperms and estates: An unadulterated functionally based approach. Southern Methodist University Law Review, 62, 367.
U.S. Congressional Record Thursday, 15 October 2009 Statement of Congressman Pete Stark Introducing HR 3827: The Every Child Deserves a Family Act.
U.S. Congressional Record Introduced 19 May 2015 Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY].
United Nations. (2009). Child adoption: Trends and policies. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/child-adoption.pdfU.S.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2005). A report to Congress on adoption and other permanency outcomes for children in foster care: Focus on older children. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/congress_adopt.pdf
United States Census International Database data. Retrieved September 3, 2008., http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/summaries.html
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Davis, M.A. (2020). A Demographic Perspective on Childhood Adoptions in the U.S.. In: Farris, D.N., Bourque, A.J.J. (eds) International Handbook on the Demography of Marriage and the Family. International Handbooks of Population, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35079-6_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35079-6_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-35077-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-35079-6
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)