Newborn Adoption Statistics

Of all coupled households in the United States, 3% have adopted children.
Between 2011 and 2018, infants accounted for more than 70% of the total increase in foster care entries, and the number of infants entering foster care increased 24% in those seven years, reaching around 50,000 in 2018.
There are around 700,000 children living with adoptive parents, and over 1.2 million children living with at least one adoptive parent.

Pathways to Adoption

Method of Adoption Pursued by Adoptive Families in the United States

Private Domestic Adoption: 38%
Foster Care Adoption: 37%
International Adoption: 25%

Private Domestic Adoption

Private providers of adoption services include adoption agencies, facilitators, attorneys, and other adoption professionals. They follow the rules and standards set by each state, but they can establish their own practices as well, such as more stringent adoption standards or specific qualifications. Wait times are usually longer and costs are sometimes higher for adoptive parents pursuing a private domestic adoption.

Foster Care Adoption

Foster care adoption refers to adoption through the Child Welfare System. Children in the foster care system were removed from their family’s care by child protective services due to the threat or evidence of violence, abuse, neglect, drug use, abandonment, or other dangers. Some states contract with private agencies to provide foster and adoptive services for children in foster care.

International Adoption

International adoption service providers typically specialize in either Hague Convention or Non-Hague Convention adoptions. The United States implemented the Hague Convention standards in 2008, which established international practice for adoptions. Adoptive parents typically work with private U.S. adoption agencies that coordinate with adoption agencies and other entities in countries around the world.

About Adopted Children

There are more than one million adopted children living in households across the United States. Of all U.S. adoptions, 40% are transracial adoptions, and almost a quarter of adopted children are adopted by relatives. Main motivations for adoption include wanting to provide a permanent home for a child and a desire to expand their family. More than 80% of adoptive parents report a relationship with their child that was warm and close and met or exceeded their expectations.

The statistics listed below are from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2008 National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP), the first extensive national study to be conducted for the sole purpose of gathering empirical data about adoption. This information is some of the only data that represent compiled public, private, and international adoption statistics and don’t include step-parent adoptions. The findings represent children under age 18 who were adopted and living with neither biological parent.

Gender

Male: 49%
Female: 51%

Age

Age 0-2: 5%
Age 3-4: 9%
Age 5-9: 30%
Age 10-12: 19%
Age 13-14: 14%
Age 15-17: 23%

Race/Ethnicity

The race of children adopted via international adoption is overwhelmingly Asian. With foster care, the majority of children adopted are white or black, and children adopted via private domestic adoption are mostly white.

All Children

White: 56%
Black: 14%
Hispanic: 20%
Asian: 4%
Other: 6%

Private Domestic Adoption

White: 50%
Black: 25%
Hispanic: 13%
Asian: 2%
Other: 10%

International Adoption

White: 19%
Black: 3%
Hispanic: 17%
Asian: 59%
Other: 2%

Adopted Children

White: 37%
Black: 23%
Hispanic: 15%
Asian: 15%
Other: 10%

Foster Care Adoption

White: 37%
Black: 35%
Hispanic: 15%
Asian: 3%
Other: 10%

Other Children

Of all foster parents, 40% have other adopted children and/or biological children, compared to only 21% of parents that adopt privately and 10% of parents that adopt internationally.

Percentage of Adopted Children whose Parents have Other Children

Private Domestic Adoption: 21%
Foster Care Adoption: 40%
International Adoption: 10%

Birth Families

43% of adopted children lived with their birth families at some point prior to their adoption.
36% of children in non-relative adoptions have had post-adoption contact with their birth families, and around the same percentage of children have a pre-adoption agreement regarding openness.
71% of adopted children have known birth siblings. Of these, 29% have birth siblings also adopted by their adoptive parent(s).

Birth Siblings

Children adopted from foster care are more than twice as likely to be adopted with their birth siblings than children adopted privately or internationally.

Percentage of Children Adopted with Birth Siblings by Adoption Type

Private Domestic Adoption: 15%
Foster Care Adoption: 36%
International Adoption: 7%

About Adoptive Parents

The following statistics represent parents who have adopted through all methods of adoption (private domestic adoption, foster care, and international adoption).

Average Age

44 years old

Marital Status

Married couple: 69%
Single or other: 29%
Cohabiting: 2%

Race/Ethnicity

The majority of adoptive parents are white, and a substantial portion of adoptive parents are black. Only a small percentage of adoptive parents are hispanic.

Private Domestic Adoption

White: 71%
Black: 19%
Hispanic: 7%
Other: 3%

Foster Care Adoption

White: 63%
Black: 27%
Hispanic: 5%
Other: 5%

International Adoption

White: 92%
Black: 2%
Hispanic: 4%
Other: 2%

Transracial Adoption

Overall, 40% of adopted children are of a different race, culture, or ethnicity than both of their adoptive parent(s).

All Adoption

40% are transracial adoptions

Private Domestic Adoption

21% are transracial adoptions

Foster Care Adoption

28% are transracial adoptions

International Adoption

84% are transracial adoptions

Education Level and Income

Adopted children are more likely than children in the general population to live in families with an income above the poverty threshold and to have a parent who has completed education beyond high school.

Private Domestic Adoption

Parent Education is Beyond High School: 79%
Household Income is Greater than 400% above the Poverty Threshold: 33%
Parents are Employed Full-time: 31%

Foster Care Adoption

Parent Education is Beyond High School: 70%
Household Income is Greater than 400% above the Poverty Threshold: 25%
Parents are Employed Full-time: 31%

International Adoption

Parent Education is Beyond High School: 95%
Household Income is Greater than 400% above the Poverty Threshold: 58%
Parents are Employed Full-time: 43%

Adoption by Relatives

24% of adopted children were adopted by relatives.
17% of foster children were adopted by relatives.
37% of those adopted privately were adopted by relatives.
Very few of those adopted internationally were adopted by relatives.

Reasons for Adoption

The most common reason a family is motivated to adopt is their desire to provide a permanent home for a child.

All Adoption

To provide a permanent home for a child: 81%
A desire to expand family: 69%
Inability to have a biological child: 52%
Wanted sibling for another child: 24%
Had previously adopted the child’s siblings: 7%

Private Domestic Adoption

To provide a permanent home for a child: 70%
A desire to expand family: 60%
Inability to have a biological child: 52%
Wanted sibling for another child: 16%
Had previously adopted the child’s siblings: 7%

Foster Care Adoption

To provide a permanent home for a child: 86%
A desire to expand family: 61%
Inability to have a biological child: 39%
Wanted sibling for another child: 24%
Had previously adopted the child’s siblings: 11%

International Adoption

To provide a permanent home for a child: 90%
A desire to expand family: 92%
Inability to have a biological child: 72%
Wanted sibling for another child: 36%
Had previously adopted the child’s siblings: 2%

Adoption Satisfaction

86% of adoptive parents report their relationship with their child met or exceeded their expectations.
81% of adoptive parents report their relationship with their child is very warm and close.
87% of adoptive parents said they would “definitely” make the same decision to adopt their child again, knowing everything then that they now know about their child.
92% of adoptive parents who have adopted children aged five and older have parents who perceive their child’s feelings towards the adoption as “positive” or “mostly positive”.

Engagement with Children

Adopted children aged five and under are more likely than all children from the same age group to be read to every day, be sung to or told stories every day, and participate in extracurricular activities.

Adopted Children Aged 0-5

More likely to be read to: 68%
More likely to be sung to or told stories every day: 73%
More likely to participate in extracurricular activities: 85%

All Children Aged 0-5

More likely to be read to: 48%
More likely to be sung to or told stories every day: 59%
More likely to participate in extracurricular activities: 81%

Special Needs Adoption

It’s important to keep in mind that adopted children tend to be older than children in the general population, and many child and family well-being indicators differ according to children’s ages. When comparing well-being between adopted children and the general population of children, some differences may be attributable to the older ages, on average, of adopted children.

Of all adopted children, 85% are in excellent or very good health, but they are twice as likely as children in the general population to have special health care needs. Furthermore, one-third of adopted children receive some sort of mental health care, and adopted children are more likely than children in the general population to have health insurance.

Percentage of Adoptive Parents who Received Post-Adoption Services

Private Domestic Adoption

Mental Health Care (ages 5+): 33%
Crisis Counseling: <5%
Had a Mentor (ages 5+): 13%

Foster Care Adoption

Mental Health Care (ages 5+): 46%
Crisis Counseling: 6%
Had a Mentor (ages 5+): 18%

International Adoption

Mental Health Care (ages 5+): 35%
Crisis Counseling: <5%
Had a Mentor (ages 5+): 7%

Adopted children are twice as likely to have been diagnosed with and to have moderate or severe symptoms of depression, ADD/ADHD, or a behavior/conduct disorder. Despite the prevalence of special health care needs in adopted children, 88% of adopted children aged six and older exhibit positive social behaviors.

Children According to Measures of Social & Emotional Well-Being

Adopted Children

Ever Diagnosed with Depression (age 2+): 9%
Ever Diagnosed with ADD/ADHD (age 6+): 26%
Ever Diagnosed with Behavior Conduct Problems (age 2+): 15%
Problems with Social Behaviors (age 6+): 14%
Exhibits Positive Social Behaviors (age 6+): 88%

All Children

Ever Diagnosed with Depression (age 2+): 4%
Ever Diagnosed with ADD/ADHD (age 6+): 10%
Ever Diagnosed with Behavior Conduct Problems (age 2+): 4%
Problems with Social Behaviors (age 6+): 9%
Exhibits Positive Social Behaviors (age 6+): 94%

Adopted Children According to their Health Status

Private Domestic Adoption

Health Status NOT “Excellent” or “Very Good”: 16%
Moderate or Severe Health Problem(s): 21%

Foster Care Adoption

Health Status NOT “Excellent” or “Very Good”: 19%
Moderate or Severe Health Problem(s): 39%

International Adoption

Health Status NOT “Excellent” or “Very Good”: 7%
Moderate or Severe Health Problem(s): 14%

Private Domestic Adoption: 38%

Foster Care Adoption: 37%

International Adoption: 25%

Despite longer wait times and potentially higher costs, private domestic adoption is the most popular kind of adoption in the United States. Of children who were adopted privately in the United States, 62% were younger than one month old. Most families have open adoption agreements of some kind and have had post-adoption contact with their child’s birth families. According to some indicators, families who adopt privately may be more satisfied than families who adopt via foster care or international adoption.

Adoption statistics specifically representing just private domestic adoption and excluding foster care and international adoptions are difficult to locate. Private adoption data are not usually compiled or even published publicly. The following statistics are from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2008 National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP), and are some of the only data that represent private adoption statistics in the United States without including step-parent adoptions. The findings represent children under age 18 who were adopted and living with neither biological parent.