2013 Adoption numbers internationally to the USA was 7,094
12 from Armenia, with only 2 being considered as “healthy”
Foreign Adoptions to USA
decline sharply
NEW YORK March 21, 2014 (AP)
By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer
The number of foreign children adopted by U.S. parents plunged by 18
percent last year to the lowest level since 1992, due in part to Russia's ban
on adoptions by Americans. Adoptions from South Korea and Ethiopia also dropped
sharply.
Figures released Friday by the U.S. State Department for the 2013 fiscal
year showed 7,094 adoptions from abroad, down from 8,668 in 2012 and down about
69 percent from the high of 22,884 in 2004. The number has dropped every year
since then.
As usual, China accounted for the most children adopted in the U.S. But
its total of 2,306 was far below the peak of 7,903 in 2005.
Ethiopia was second at 993, a marked decline from 1,568 adoptions in
2012. Ethiopian authorities have been trying to place more abandoned children
with relatives or foster families, and have intensified scrutiny of orphanages
to ensure that children placed for adoption are not part of any improper
scheme.
Russia had been No. 3 on the list in 2012, with 748 of its children
adopted by Americans. But that number dropped to 250 for 2013, representing
adoptions completed before Russia's ban took effect.
The ban served as retaliation for a U.S. law targeting alleged Russian
human-rights violators. It also reflected resentment over the 60,000 Russian
children adopted by Americans in the past two decades, about 20 of whom died
from abuse, neglect or other causes while in the care of their adoptive
parents.
Moving into the No. 3 spot for 2013 was Ukraine, currently engaged in
political conflict with Russia. Ukraine accounted for 438 adoptions, followed
by Haiti with 388, Congo with 313 and Uganda with 276.
Despite the relatively high numbers of adoptions from the Congo, that
African country has been the cause of heartache from some American families
trying to adopt Congolese children. In several instances, U.S. parents have
obtained court approval for adoptions and taken custody of the children, only
to be denied exit permits that would enable them to bring the children to the
United States. They face a choice of living in the Congo with their children or
returning to the U.S. without them.
"It's a terrible shame," said Susan Jacobs, the State
Department's special adviser on children's issues.
Along with Russia and Ethiopia, the biggest contributor to the one-year
drop was South Korea, which accounted for 627 U.S. adoptions in 2012 but only
138 last year. Jacobs said this decline was due primarily to new adoption
procedures implemented by South Korea.
The last time there were fewer foreign adoptions to the U.S. was in
1992, when there were 6,472, and the downward trend has dismayed many advocates
of international adoption.
Chuck Johnson, CEO of the National Council of Adoption, contended that
the decline stems in part from the way the State Department has applied the
Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption, which establishes ethical standards
for international adoptions.
The U.S. entered into the agreement in 2008 with strong support from
adoption advocates who hoped it would curtail fraud and corruption, and then
lead to a boom in legitimate adoptions. Instead, the decrease has continued.
"The U.S. has encouraged and in some cases strong-armed
impoverished countries to sign the Hague Convention and then cites their
inability to comply with strict Hague standards as a reason for not doing
intercountry adoption with them," Johnson said.
Johnson expressed hope that Congress would support a bill introduced
with bipartisan support last year — the Children in Families First Act — that
would encourage more adoptions of foreign orphans. It would create a new bureau
in the State Department assigned to work with non-governmental organizations
and foreign countries to minimize the number of children without families —
through family preservation and reunification, kinship care, and domestic and
international adoption.
Concerns about corruption, child-trafficking and baby-selling have
prompted the United States to suspend adoptions from several countries in
recent years, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Guatemala and Nepal.
However, Jacobs said some adoptions from Vietnam — mostly involving
children with special needs — were expected to resume soon. She said a
Vietnamese delegation was due in the U.S. next month to interview U.S. adoption
agencies with the aim of selecting some to operate in Vietnam.
"One thing that remains constant is our support for intercountry
adoptions and our determination that they are done ethically and
transparently," Jacobs said. "I can't think of anything worse than
for a child to be consigned to an institution when they should be with a
family."
The State Department reported that 84 American children were adopted by
residents of foreign countries last year — 35 of them went to Canada and 38 to
the Netherlands.
