This article appeared in the Chicago Tribune yesterday, January 10, 2007.

Foreign-adoption boom is ending

By David Crary, Associated Press; AP writer Audra Ang in Beijing contributed to this report
Published January 10, 2007


NEW YORK -- After tripling over the past 15 years, the number of foreign children adopted by Americans dropped sharply in 2006.

The consequences could be profound for the ever-growing numbers of Americans interested in adopting abroad. Already, the hopes of some have been quashed by tightened eligibility rules in China.



Declines were recorded last year in nearly all countries that recently have been the top sources of adopted children--China, Russia, South Korea and Ukraine among them.

Increases from less familiar alternatives--Ethiopia, Liberia, Haiti and Vietnam--partly offset the drop, but some experts believe the era of constantly surging foreign adoption is over.

"The huge growth rates you saw in the '90s--I think that's over," said Thomas DiFilipo, president of the Joint Council on International Children's Services.

He urged Americans considering international adoption to "get educated on the myriad options that are available."

Overall, according to the State Department, international adoptions by Americans fell to 20,679 in the 2006 fiscal year from 22,728 in 2005--the first significant decline since 1992.

Adoptions from China, the No. 1 source of children since 2000, fell 18 percent, from 7,906 to 6,493. Adoptions from Russia, the No. 2 source over the previous six years, dropped about 20 percent to a 10-year low of 3,706. Both are among many nations trying to reform their child welfare systems and increase domestic adoptions.

In some cases, reform campaigns are coupled with skepticism toward foreign adoption, including concern about occasional abuse. Romania, for instance, has banned adoptions by foreigners, except for relatives.

For many would-be adoptive parents in the United States, China is by far the country of choice. Its government-run adoption system is considered honest and efficient, and its orphanage population--mostly abandoned baby girls--is considered healthier than those in many other countries.

Now there is widespread concern over last year's drop in adoptions and China's recent announcement of new rules, to take effect May 1, regarding who can adopt. They give priority to stable married couples between 30 and 50. Single people, and those suffering from obesity or depression, will lose out.

Among those dismayed by the rules is Ann Freeman, 42, a travel agent from West Valley City, Utah, whose longtime dream of adopting a Chinese child has been dashed by the new curb on single parents.

"I'm heartbroken," she said. "This child would have been the world to me."

The same new rule would have prevented Anna Spitz, a University of Arizona research coordinator, from adopting her two thriving Chinese daughters, Rachel, 14, and Sarah, 9.

"I recognize it's nice to have two-parent families," Spitz said. "But it makes me sad that a lot of single parents who'd create great families won't be able to adopt now."

Chinese officials say the new rules will shorten the waiting time--now about 15 months--for well-qualified couples. China also wants more children with disabilities to be adopted overseas; criteria for people willing to adopt special-needs children are slightly more lax than for other adoptions.

The number of orphans and abandoned babies in China remains substantial, though authorities say it is dwindling. About 51,000 were adopted in 2005, according to the government--13,000 by foreign families, the rest in China.

The only major country of origin to increase U.S. adoptions in 2006 was Guatemala, with 4,135 adoptions. It overtook Russia in the No. 2 spot.

However, that status is expected to change later this year when the United States ratifies the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions, which sets tough standards that Guatemala's corruption-prone adoption system doesn't meet. Adoptions may be suspended while Guatemala tries to make required changes; some experts doubt the number will ever return to last year's level.

The article mentions Viet Nam's growth, but I'm very interested to see what happens to Viet Nam's program with China's new stricter requirements. Viet Nam's requirements are significantly more lax than China's so it would be reasonable to assume that more would-be China parents will begin to consider Viet Nam. We'll see...