Adoptions From The Heart: 2017

Friday, December 8, 2017

Another Successful National Adoption Month Comes To An End

Across the country National Adoption Month was celebrated with adoptions, of course! November was a fantastic month for families to grow and communities support them and share in their joy. We have found some highlights from news across the United States.

In Austin, ''There's no place like home'' was this year's National Adoption Month theme. To celebrate this day, there were hearings for 44 kids and their new families. Among the children that got a new home was 8-month-old Rylie. Chanda Pearmon and Laurie Sparrowhawk adopted the little one. Previously, the couple had already adopted two other kids (Rylie's brothers), meaning the entire family now has three children.

The Austin Bar Foundation in conjunction with Travis County Office of Child Representation, Travis County Children's Protective Services Board, Partnerships for Children, CASA of Travis County, Gardner-Betts Juvenile Justice Center, Texas Department of Family, sponsors Austin Adoption Day.

In Travis County, 119 children are currently waiting for adoption. In the whole state, the number is below 4,000. Of this, 52% are older kids between ages of 10 – 17.

In the state, Judge Darlene Byrne praised families that made this year's National Adoption day possible. He further added that more and more people should purpose to do the same. ''I appreciate the fact that we have a kind and giving community. I know that our families are loving. I'm just asking that you find within yourselves to be a solution to the 119, to the 4,000,'' said the judge.

In Reading, PA, Senior Judge Arthur E. Grim was honored for his adoption efforts. Arthur, an adoption parent himself, has connected many children with different families in his thirty year stint at the bench. A surprise party was organized for the 74-year-old judge to appreciate his efforts. He'll retire Dec. 31.

Jennifer and her husband Robert Harris of Hillsdale, N.J. adopted 4-month-old Ryan Elizabeth to mark the National Adoption Month. They made the little one their official daughter after an exhaustive adoption journey that started in 2014. ''We are happy to have a new addition to our holidays this year,'' Robert said. They started caring for the young one once she was born in Pittsburgh. However, they had to wait for one month before they could take Ryan back to New Jersey. Jennifer, Robert and Jack, 9, their son, answered a number of rudimentary questions before they penned off on the adoption.

To learn more about adoptions, contact our Adoptions From The Heart offices in:
Greensburg, PA (Pittsburgh)
1225 S Main St #207
Greensburg, PA 15601
(724) 853-6533

Philadelphia, PA
30 Hampstead Cir
Wynnewood, PA 19096
(610) 642-7200

Allentown, PA
2212 Union Blvd
Allentown, PA 18109
(610) 432-2384

Thursday, November 30, 2017

New Data Shows Changes In United States Adoptions

According to the U.S. Department of State's data, the number of children from outside the United States adopted by Americans declined steadily in 2016. Males were more than females among those adopted from abroad. The changing adoption patterns in China inform this trend.

From the data, Americans adopted roughly 5,370 kids from other countries in the fiscal year 2016. This translates to 77% fewer in comparison to the peak in 2004. It was also 66% fewer compared to 1999.

A huge drop in adoptions from these five countries has occasioned the reduction in international adoption:

Ethiopia
South Korea
Guatemala
Russia
China

In the past, together, the 5 countries have represents for 71% of adoptions to the United States since 1999. Since 2004, they've driven 88% of the overall decline.

In the recent past, the above five countries have revised their adoption protocols. They've made it more difficult for Americans to adopt.

For instance, in Russia, a diplomatic rift with the United States resulted to a ban of any new American adoptions of children from the country as of 2013. In Ethiopia, South Korea and China, the reduction in the number of international adoptions reflect the tightening of domestic laws on the same. Since April, the Ethiopian government suspended all adoptions internationally in April.

Adoptions in China has declined sharply too but far exceeds the adoptions from other countries. In the year 2016, Chinese adoptees comprises of up 42% of kids adopted internationally by Americans. Nonetheless, the demographics of adoptees from China have drastically shifted in the recent past. Most notably, males consist of a majority of adoptees from this country on record for the first time in 2016. This represents a stark change from 1999. In this year, Chinese adoptees to the United States were 98% female.

In addition to gender, the internal adoptees on average have increased. Prior to 2008, the largest chunk of adoptees was less than one year old – 44%. Between 2008 – 2014, the number of adoptees of ages 1 -2 was twice as those of under 1 year. In 2016 and 2015, the largest share of adoptees to the United States was considerably older.