Congress stepping in as international adoptions plummet in U.S.

BOSTON — Millions of children are in need and there are thousands of willing families, but international adoptions fell again in 2018.

This is an issue we first uncovered with our reporting on State of Adoption, and the situation is only getting worse.

However, It's a reality some are eager to change.

The number of children from other countries adopted by U.S. families dropped 13 percent to an historic low of 4,000 children.

Adoption advocates blame the U.S. State Department.

"They've put new, very restrictive policies in place that make it more difficult to advocate for children, more difficult for families, more expensive for families, and now the amount of time it takes to adopt and the children available for adoption is making it such that fewer and fewer children are finding families," Ryan Hanlon, a representative from the National Council for Adoption, said.

The State Department told Boston 25 News there are significant barriers in some countries, but the agency is working every day to ensure adoption remains a viable option for children in need of a permanent home.

Hanlon says this problem is years in the making.

"We don't have the right leadership to be partnering with other nations and to be working with the adoption community to ensure we're serving U.S. citizens well, and that, primarily, we're finding families for the many children that need families," he said.

Most states have seen a drop in international adoptions, but Massachusetts has seen a slight increase from just 49 in 2017 to 60 in 2018.

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Boston) told Boston 25 News he supports a bill introduced last week in Congress that would remove obstacles for families trying to adopt overseas.

"Give us reports -- regular and annul reports -- that explain what's going on in these foreign countries that are reducing their adoption rate and how we might improve that process," he said.

Lynch also said he wants to find ways to make it easier for families to adopt.

As we've shown you, it can be expensive and take a very long time in some cases.

MORE: State of Adoption: How and why adoption is changing in Massachusetts

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