Adoption in America: Which State Adopts the Most?

We tend to look at adoption statistics as a whole and examine the entire countrys adoption rates. But with the enormous size of the United States, it helps to look at each state individually to determine where the most adoptions are currently taking place. ccording to num!ers, "exas came out on top in #$%# with &%& recorded adoptions. 'n terms of num!ers, it is a!out &$ more than the next state, (alifornia. "he num!ers also show that states to the east, such as 'llinois and )hio, tend to adopt more than states in the west, like *evada and +ontana. "his can !e attri!uted to population, as the eastern states have significantly more people than some of the western ones. ,owever, if we look at the rate of adoptions per %$$,$$$ children, laska takes the lead. -ven though "exas leads adoptions in pure num!ers, it is important to take into consideration the num!er of children in foster care, too. "exas, a large and very fast.growing state, has thousands of children in orphanages and the foster system, which makes &%& adoptions per year good, !ut not great. /ikewise, laska is significantly smaller in terms of !oth population and children in the foster system, putting their rate of adoptions at a noteworthy level. But sheer num!ers do not tell the whole story. 0irginia has a low rate of adoption per %$$,$$$, !ut that is !ecause there are fewer foster children to adopt compared to other states. 't is hard for a state without many children in the system to have adopting parents. "he statistics also do not address international adoption, which is not recorded in the num!ers !ecause it is not domestic. So what factors determine a good rate of adoption1 ,aving parents that are willing to adopt is a place to start, !ut potential adoptive couples need to !e educated a!out the adoption process from cost to application, as well. s mentioned earlier, a high num!er of children in the foster care system factors into rates and statistics. /ooking !ack at 0irginia and "exas, the num!ers seem to match up properly 2 a large state like "exas with millions of inha!itants will certainly have more children awaiting adoption and a higher num!er of people adopting. "he same is true for !oth (alifornia and *ew 3ork. /ikewise, laska and 0irginia, places with fewer people and fewer children, can have higher rates !ecause of the need. /ooking at the num!ers can help determine which states need more adoptions and which states are on the right track. While we want every child to find a home, some states have a !igger need for adoptions than others. With domestic adoptions on the rise, we hope that adoptions in every state go up in the coming years.

About Providence Place 4rovidence 4lace of San ntonio, "exas is a nonprofit organization offering adoption services, vocational training for adults with disa!ilities and working with other nonprofit organizations in the San ntonio area. "o learn more a!out the work they do or to schedule a tour of their #5. acre campus, visit their we!site or contact them today.