Foreign adoptions by US citizens have dropped to a new low in six years, with the total number of adoptions falling to 12,753 in 2009, as well as a similar number predicted for 2010, says Boston Moms.
China used to be the leading source of foreign adoptions for US families. However, with rising domestic adoptions in China and drawn-out international adoption procedures due to more stringent policies, prospective adoptive parents are now looking elsewhere.
Accounting for about 10 percent of the total adoptions to the US, adoptions from Russia have also declined. On the other hand, Ethiopia is set to become the largest source of international adoptions in the US over the next ten years. According to the State Department, while the number of Chinese adoptions has dropped from 7,900 to 3,000 in the last five years, 2,277 Ethiopian children were adopted by American families in 2009, compared to only 442 in 2005.
With tougher national adoption policies and the suspension of adoption applications from certain countries due to corruption and fraud charges, total US adoptions have been declining since 2004, and this trend is set to continue into the foreseeable future.
