Department of State: Annual Adoption Report 2014
The U.S. Department of State has just released its annual report on intercountry adoptions. The report offers details such as incoming adoptions by country of origin, incoming adoptions by state, outgoing adoptions, and other important related information.
2,040 children were adopted from China to the U.S. in 2014 (down from 2,306 in 2013), 716 children were adopted from Ethiopia (down from 993 in 2013), 521 children from Ukraine were adopted in 2014 (up from 438 in 2013), 464 children from Haiti were adopted to the U.S. (also an increase from 388 in 2013), and Russia saw only 2 adoptions to the U.S. in 2014 down from 250 in 2013 due to an adoption ban to the U.S. by Russia.
Anyone familiar with international adoption is aware that the process has increasingly become more challenging over the years. With the increase in timeframes and other obstacles, the end result is fewer children being placed into families where they can thrive. We are grateful that there has been increased awareness for domestic adoption in some adopting countries and more reunification is taking place in some countries as well, however the challenges have still left many orphans institutionalized.
According to a Time.com article, Chuck Johnson, CEO of the National Council for Adoption said the State Department has worked hard to make international adoption more transparent and ethical, but has failed to advocate forcefully for adoption as a viable option for many of the world’s orphans.
“I want to prevent every instance of fraud,” Johnson wrote in an email. “But it appears that the Department of State has taken the view that we can’t help even eligible children on the often unsubstantiated fear that a child might be trafficked.”
America World exists primarily because it values the right of every child to have a family and believes adoption is a God ordained way to build a family. We continue to work toward finding Christ-centered homes for orphans when reunification and domestic adoption fails.
Although adoptions are trending down, the need is as great as ever and with God's help we will continue to advocate and care for orphans until there is no longer an orphan crisis. We are grateful for our Storytellers who are relentless in sharing the stories of the many Waiting Children needing families–for Storytellers who pray daily for those who have no voice. Please continue to advocate with us for those who are waiting and those to come.