Adoption

Adoption is a relatively new concept. All the states enacted adoption legislation in the early 1900's. Prior to this time, most orphans were sent to public almshouses and were cared for until they could be given to other families as servants. Gradually society's attitudes have changed and a variety of private social and religious groups have worked to reform the laws for private adoption. Increasingly, families began to care for children and request that the courts recognize them as legitimate family members.

After World War I, due to a variety of factors including a sharp population decline and the development of infant formula, adoptions doubled to almost 100,000 annually. By the 1950's, there was more demand for healthy newborns then could be met and most adoptions of non-relatives were done by public agencies. By the 1970's, a variety of adoption options had developed in addition to a closed domestic adoption. Many families were seeking the alternative of an open private placement with the help of an adoption attorney or by contacting the birth mother directly.

There are approximately 125,000 children adopted annually in the United States. This is a decline from the 1970's when adoption hit its peak with 175,000. Given this information it is safe to say that adoptions are relatively rare. Adoption is more visible today, especially with the increase of international and interracial adoptions, but the adoption rate has actually been decreasing since the 1970s. It is estimated that 2 to 4 percent of families have adopted children. This means approximately 5 million Americans today are adoptees.

Adoption statistics have always been hard to determine. There was a national reporting system from 1945-1975 under the U.S. Children's Bureau but today most of the reporting is done by private organizations. The only information gathered by the federal government prior to 2000 for adoptions was the number of children adopted from the foster care system.