Data for the Number of Private Domestic Adoptions is Not Systematically Reported because states are not legally required to report the number of private domestic adoptions, there are few sources of that information.

The most recent and comprehensive data is reported by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). NCSC gathered adoption totals from a variety of sources, and estimated that in 1992 nearly 127,000 children were adopted through all types of adoption — international, foster care, private agency, independent and step-parent. NCSC estimated that stepparent adoptions accounted for 42% of all adoptions and foster care adoptions 15%.

Nearly 40% of American adults, or 81.5 million people, have considered adopting a child. If just one in 500 of these adults adopt, all of the 134,000 children in foster care waiting for adoption would have permanent, loving families, according to the new National Adoption Attitudes Survey. Survey statistics overall showed that adoption in the millennium has a better reputation than ever, and that people are connecting with the idea of adoption as good for their families and for society:

• 4 in 10 American adults (81.5 million) have considered adoption for their own families
• 63 percent of all American adults have a very favorable opinion about adoption (seven percentage point increase since measured in 1997)
• 64 percent have experienced adoption within their own families or among close friends (a six percentage point increase since 1997)
• 78 percent believe the country should be doing more to encourage adoption
• 95 percent think adoptive parents should receive the same maternity and paternity benefits from employers as biological parents
• Hispanic populations are more likely (54 percent) to consider adoption than African-American (45 percent) and White populations (36 percent) – though African-Americans are most likely to consider adopting a child who has been in foster care for a few years

Source: statistics.adoptions.com

50,000 children were adopted from public foster care in 2001

1. 50% were Female
2. 50% were Male
3. 38% were Caucasian
4. 35% were Black
5. 16% were Hispanic

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, AFCARS Report

1. Half of the U.S. population have an adoption in their immediate family.
2. 2% of the U.S. population, or 5-10-million Americans, are adoptees.

Source: Adoption Factbook, National Council For Adoption

• According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are 532,698 children in the U.S. foster care system. Of those, 116,000 want to be adopted.
• Approximately 36,000 children are adopted annually from the U.S. foster care system.
• 1 in 6 adopted children is of a different race from their adopters.