How Many Children Were Adopted in 1992.

Abstract

This article presents the most recent and accurate information on the total number of adoptions in the United States. It continues the analysis of adoption information published by CHILD WELFARE in the May/June 1990 and May/June 1993 issues by providing adoption information from courts, social service agencies, and bureaus of vital records for both 1991 and 1992. This analysis marks the first time that information was received from all states, thus reducing the need for estimates. Data reveals that adoptions by stepparents constitute an average of 42% of all adoptions, and that individually arranged adoptions are likely to be adoptions by relatives. Adoption data from 1992 are a baseline from which improvements made under the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) can be measured. Federal legislation and regulations establishing the Adoption and Foster Care Data Analysis and Reporting System (AFCAI) require social service agencies to report data on all adoptions conducted by public agencies and encourages states to report basic data on adoptions made under the auspices of private adoption agencies or individually arranged adoptions completed without any agency involvement [USDHHS 1990, 1993].* AFCARS was established to meet the need for current data on children in out-of-home care and on children who have been adopted. It addresses policy and management issues at both the state and federal levels. Specifically, the data will be used to make short- and long-term budget projections, to create long- and short-range plans to target areas for technical assistance, and to provide support for policy changes and legislative proposals [USDHS 1993: 67912]. Once implemented, AFCARS will be able to answer such questions as: * What are the characteristics of children being adopted? * What are the characteristics of parents who release their children for adoption? * To what extent is relinquishment of parental rights voluntary rather than mandatory? * What are the characteristics of parents who adopt? * Which types of agencies are most likely to place children in adoptive homes? States are required to modify their child welfare information systems to be consistent with the defined foster care and adoption data elements. AFCARS data are to be reported semiannually from all states and will assist in research leading to improvements in the child welfare system [Courtney & Collins, 1994]. As a means of monitoring changes in states' capacity to produce adoption information, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has been collecting adoption information from each state and has become the authoritative source of national adoption statistics [Flango 1990: 263-275; Flango & Flango 1993: 311-319; National Committee for Adoption 1989; Stolley 1993]. This is the fourth year that the NCSC's Adoption Technical Assistance project has gathered data on the total number of adoptions from multiple sources within states.** It is, however, the first time that data from 1991 and 1992 data are reported, the first time that some key data elements were available from all states,*** and the first time that data on total adoptions were available from Alabama (see table 1). (Table 1 omitted) The number of adoptions has remained fairly constant for the past four years and is still relatively proportionate to population size. To show the relationship between population size and number of adoptions, the states are arranged in population order (see figure 1). (Figure 1 omitted) If adoptions were always directly proportionate to population size, the number of adoptions per state should follow a declining pattern. California should have the most adoptions and Wyoming the least. To the extent that states deviate from this descending pattern, the number of adoptions is either higher or lower than one would expect based upon population. Figure 1 shows that although the relationship between population size and number of adoptions is strong, Alaska, Idaho, Vermont, and Wyoming have more adoptions than would be expected based upon population, and Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, and West Virginia have proportionately fewer. …

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