39 Adoption In The United States Facts And Statistics That Will Open Your Eyes To The Truth! -

Here are a bunch of myths, and concurrent myth-busting adoption in the United States facts and statistics to ponder over, and make up your mind in this great debate.

Table of Contents

There was a time when there was a lot of stigma around adoption, not only in the U.S. but across the world. However, with time, things changed, and people became more open to the idea of adoption. However, many misconceptions and untrue beliefs surround the concept of adoption.

So, today, we decided to lay down some unique facts and statistics related to American adoptions that will help you learn the reality of adoption in the country and encourage you to adopt a child in need without having to feel guilty about it.

39 Adoption In The United States Facts And Statistics That Will Open Your Eyes To The Truth!

U.S. Adoption Statistics

There are several reasons prospective adopting parents want to adopt children in America. However, there reasons also to stop them from taking the first step. It can be anything, from the fear of getting ill-treatment from their non-biological child to wondering whether they are the right people to adopt a child.

Thanks to these myths, the questions and confusions are many, but the answers are now ready! All thanks to the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP)¹, which laid down the most extensive adoption statistics in America until now.

We hope that the published statistics will help you find the answers to your adoption-related query and confusion.

Let’s begin with how many children are waiting to be adopted in the U.S.?

Even though the U.S. is one of the most well-to-do nations in the world, about 117,470 children were waiting to be adopted in 2020 in the U.S.²
The above account is seemingly lower than that in 2007, 133, 682 children. ³It means that even if slowly, the people of America are stepping further to give a life to foster children.

One great misconception, rather belief, of prospective adopting parents is that the adopted child won’t be loved as much as the biological child.

To clear this misbelief, reports and stories, ⁴ have already been published that prove adoptive parents show great love, almost as close to the birth mother, towards the adopted child.
It’s not just the love; they also feel respect and responsibility towards the adopted child. In fact, as per NSAP reports, three out of every four adopted children under age 0-5 are read pr sang to daily.⁵
It has also been observed that most adopted children have meals with their families at least six days a week.⁶
Reports also say that nine out of ten adoptive parents share a close relationship with the adopted child.⁷.

So, this should calm you down in case you want to adopt but are scared due to the misconception of not being able to give the same amount of love to your adopted child as your biological child.

You might also like to read: How Much Does It Cost To Reverse An Adoption?

Birthparent Misconceptions vs. Statistics About Adoption

How many couples are waiting to adopt a child in America?

While it is difficult to get to an exact number, statistics show that about 2 million couples are currently waiting to adopt a child in America.⁸

Our point is that it is not always the adopting parents that have misconceptions about adopting a child. The above stats clearly show that a large population wants to adopt a child, but they aren’t able to – one of the reasons is the misconceptions of birth parents.

It is already quite difficult for a birth parent to put their child up for adoption. On top of that, several misconceptions stop them from moving further with the paperwork, such as, “my child won’t love me and never talk to me again.”

The below statistics will clear off the above misconception and more of the birthing parents.

Those birth parents who believe that their child will hate them if they put them up for adoption have never seen authentic stats and have made a belief by watching the TV drama shows.

In reality, the facts show over 90 percent of adopted kids under the age of five only have feelings of love and respect for their parents. ⁹Such positive feelings are that most children are raised in happy and safe homes. They can also lead a good life where they get an opportunity to live their dreams.

Another misconception is that if they put their baby for adoption, the birth parents might never see their child again.

This one is again the result of watching those prime-time shows on television when the statics tell a whole different story.

For instance, 100 percent of prospective birth mothers have the right to choose the openness they intend to share with their children after they are adopted. ¹⁰
Birthing parents and the adopted child share a healthy and loving relationship with one another.¹¹

So, if you are prospective birth parents conscious about putting your child up for adoption, you can go ahead with it without worrying about not seeing your child again.

The ‘my child will not know he or she is adopted’ is so 20th century, yet it has managed to stay in the lives of many birth parents.

Today, 99 percent of adopted children under the age of 5 and older know that they are adopted.¹² It is an excellent sign that proves that the stigma around adoption is fading away.

One of the most entrenched misconceptions about birthing parents that the vast majority believe is that the mother is irresponsible or selfish if she puts her child up for adoption.

It is rather selflessness on her part that she is willing to give up her child for the sake of their future, which she seemingly won’t be able to provide. ¹³

Some of the significant U.S adoption statistics related to birth mothers are worth reading. ¹⁴

Birth mothers are more likely to receive higher education than mothers who parent their children.
Women who marry later are more likely to have a happy married life and less likely to get a divorce.
Birth mothers are pretty likely to get employed for 12 months after the child’s birth.
Birth mothers are less likely to show depressive symptoms than mothers who are single parents.

There is no such thing as a selfish mother when taking care of one’s child. You are not selfish or irresponsible for wanting the best for your child.

You might also like to read: How Does Adoption Affect The Child

Adoptive Family Misconceptions and Statistics

Many people will tell you that it isn’t easy to adopt a child and take care of it. Well, it is true, but that is life. It is, in fact, not always the worst-case scenario. There are several misconceptions related to adoptive families when the reality is far different from it.

The number one to join the list is that adopted children are not healthy or loved as the non-adopted children.

Let’s bust the above misconception with the stats that show that more than eighty percent of adopted children are rated to have excellent health. ¹⁵ The case can be different when the adopted child has special needs or health problems that came up before the adoption.

The second most common adoptive family misconception is that one must wait for several years to adopt a child, especially a newborn.

Do you know what percent of babies put up for adoption are adopted in America? Well, no more than 2%. ¹⁶
There is no fool-proof method to ensure when you will get to adopt an infant, but these 2015 stats show that 62 percent of parents matched with an infant within a year of pursuing the adoption agency, while 84 percent matched within two years. ¹⁷
Talking about America, we can safely say that 75 percent of U.S. couples receive a match within a year of activation.¹⁸ Even so, every adoption is unique, and the wait indeed is always worth it.

Education Adoption Statistics

We have listed some of the most common education adoption statistics below for your perusal and understanding. ¹⁹

Adopted children between the ages of 6 and 11 are as likely to read for leisure as the non-adopted ones.
Eighty-five percent of adopted children engage in extra-curricular activities.
More than 95 percent of adoptive parents in America have a high-school education, and more than 90 percent have bachelor’s degrees with full college education.
Children adopted privately are more likely to be engaged in school than children adopted through foster care or internationally.

Home Neighborhood Adoption Statistics

Even though not many people associate themselves with home neighborhood adoption statistics when considering adoption in the U.S., we felt the need to include some of the related ones in this section.

More than 80 percent of children adopted in the U.S. live above the poverty line. 20More than half or approximately half of the adopted children are the only child living in a U.S. home. ²¹
Adopted children in the U.S. are known to live in a safer neighborhoods and are given better amenities than non-adopted children. ²²

You consult your adoption agency or concerned authorities for many other adoption statistics related to your home neighborhood.

You might also like to read: How Much Does It Cost To Adopt A Child From China?

Gay Adoption Facts Statistics

Perhaps the most significant shift in U.S. adoption laws is that the LGBT community now has the right to adopt a child. However, not many people know about joint gay adoption or how many people assume children in America?

These gay adoption facts statistics might help gay couples who want to adopt but have misconceptions or doubts about it.

In 2010, the number of real same-sex couples with children in the U.S. was 115,604. Also, LGBT couples are four times more likely to adopt a child than heterosexual couples in America. ²³
LGBT couples are more likely to adopt children from different races and cultures since they are more adaptive to the idea of a multi-cultural family. ²⁴
Children adopted by LGBT couples are more tolerant, and accepting of others and their backgrounds. They are also less restricted by gender roles. ²⁵
Same-sex adoption has no detrimental effects on children. In other words, it is as beneficial to them as the children adopted by a heterosexual couple. ²⁶

Aging Out Of Foster Care

Do you know that more than 250,000 children are placed in the foster care system in the U.S. every year? ²⁷

Below are some statistics that show how foster children are out of the care and still are not reaching anywhere. ²⁸

20% of the children in foster care will become homeless after getting 18.
More than 23,000 children will age out of U.S. foster care system every year.
At least 25% who age out of foster care suffer from the direct effects of PTSD.
Only 1 out of every 2 foster children in the U.S. is expected to be employed by 24 years.
One out of every 2 kids who age out of foster care will develop some form of substance dependence.

There are a lot of statistics related to this topic for you to learn, and thorough research will help you see the truth of aging out of foster care.

Why Is Adoption Bad? Statistics

The only bad that comes from adoption is bad people and a broken system, nothing else. So, why adoption is alarming statistics isn’t even a question. There are several disturbing statistics related to adoption, and we have shared some of them here.

Disgraceful practices intentionally take place in orphanages to destroy children’s emotional and mental peace^{. 29}
In the case of both international and in-home adoption, many children are pushed into human trafficking and kidnapping. For this very reason, countries such as Guatemala, Peru, Ethiopia, Romania, and Vietnam have halted the adoption of children in the U.S.³⁰
It was also reported that non-English speaking mothers are made to sign adoption papers by making them believe that their children are sent to America for higher studies. ³¹
It is entirely unethical to allow the prospective adopting parents into the delivery room when birthing moms are still deciding on the reality of their children. It is also unfair that most mothers are promised openness in the relationship, but the adopting parents completely misrepresent their promise after a while. ³²
Perhaps, the most alarming statistic of it all is that adult adopted citizens across the U.S. can falsify the original certificate of the adopted child. The certificates can show that the adoptive parents are, in fact, the birth parents of the adopted child. The adopted child is not even given or half-given the access to their birth certificate. ³³

A Few Final Thoughts

It can be challenging to adopt a child, learn their ways of living, and teach them how to adjust to their new lives. However, the fact that a person’s life is about to be changed for good or worse entirely depends on the parents.

So, it is essential to know the truth about the adoption and unlearn the misconceptions about them, and we hope this article did the same for you. Thank you, and we hope this article added value to the conversation around adoption!