Leveling Out

It's no secret that the rate of international adoptions from Russia has fallen in recent years. Using the number of immigrant visas issued to Russian orphans as a measure, the United States Department of State publishes a chart showing approximately how many Russian children are adopted by Americans every year. At the peak in 2004, almost 6000 children were adopted into American families. For the next three years, through 2007, the number of adopted children fell by about a thousand per year. That's a decline of 20-30% per year.

The reasons for the decline are varied. They include the Russian accreditation gaps in 2005, the introduction of the NGO registration law and a new permitting process for foreign adoption agencies from 2006-2007, a concerted effort by Russian officials to encourage domestic placements at the expense of foreign placements in 2007-2008, and a souring global economy over the past year. Additionally, the Russian authorities have been tightening the rules (thus raising costs) for foreign adoptive parents steadily over the past few years in reaction to the widely publicized deaths of several Russian children who were adopted to foreign parents.

But on Thursday, the US Department of State added a column for 2009 to the chart. With this new data, we can see that the rate of decline has slowed. 2008's number is about 500 children lower than in 2007, while the new number for 2009 is about 250 children lower than for 2008. This implies that the rapid drop in foreign adoptions within Russia may be a thing of the past.

While that's good news for waiting families, we should not ignore the fact that the number of adoptions to the USA is now leveling out at only about 1500 per year, down almost 75% from the peak in 2004. This is small consolation for the tens of thousands of Russian orphans still waiting for their chance to find a family.

For those who have the desire to adopt and are willing to go through the process, Russian adoption remains a viable way to create a family while giving hope to an orphaned child.