Adoption by the Numbers: A New Report From the National Council for Adoption

A new report from this spring, titled Adoption by the Numbers, released by the National Council for Adoption (NCFA), reveals that the number of private domestic adoptions, also known as infant adoptions, have increased in recent years following a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study shows that private domestic, non-stepparent adoptions increased about 3 percent between 2019 and 2022. In 2022, there were an estimated 25,503 private domestic adoptions, up from 24,720 infant adoptions in 2019.

Adoption by the Numbers is a research study conducted by NCFA in partnership with the Opt Institute. The report provides comprehensive national-level and state-level tallies on the numbers and types of adoption that occur annually and is the only report of its kind nationwide.

“We’re proud of our partnership with Opt Institute to bring this report to the public,” Ryan Hanlon, president and CEO of NCFA, said. “It’s heartening to see that infant adoptions in the U.S. have recovered from the impact of the pandemic.” Both 2021 and 2022 had significantly higher numbers of adoptions than those just prior to the pandemic.

On a more somber note, however, the report also shows that the number of intercountry adoptions—in other words, the number of U.S. families who adopted a child from abroad—dropped 57 percent from 2019 to 2023. In total, intercountry adoptions have declined by more than 95 percent in the past two decades.

The number of children in the U.S. who were adopted from the foster care system also dropped—this time by 19 percent between 2019 and 2022. About one quarter of all exits from foster care are through adoption, and the decline in adoptions is likely attributable to the overall fewer number of children entering foster care in recent years.

According to the latest numbers, there are more than 340,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, with more than 77,000 of those children in need of permanent homes and eligible for adoption. 

Though the federal government reports annually on the number of adoptions from foster care and the number of intercountry adoptions, Adoption by the Numbers is a one-of-a-kind report because it also includes information on private domestic adoption and provides an estimate on how many are stepparent adoptions and non-stepparent adoptions.

The report also provides state-level data, with historical breakdowns by type of adoption so that those interested can see how an individual state compares to national trends.

The authors of the study say their findings should spur action at the federal level, so child-welfare professionals and policymakers have more accurate information about the number and types of private domestic adoptions that happen every year.

The above information was provided via a press release from our friends and partners at the National Council for Adoption (NCFA).