How many children are adopted in the United States?

Adoption statistics are very limited. Although data on the number of adoptions from the child welfare system (foster care) and intercountry adoptions are available, data from private agencies is currently not being systematically collected.

State foster care and public adoption statistics are currently collected through the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). States are required to submit AFCARS data semiannually to the Administration for Children and Families. AFCARS reports from 2000 to present are available on the Children's Bureau website.

The U.S. Department of State website provides information on international adoption statistics . 

For data on the number of children adopted in the United States (total, public, intercountry, and other), see Child Welfare Information Gateway's Trends in U.S. Adoptions: 2010—2019 . In addition, the National Council for Adoption periodically publishes a comprehensive report of U.S. adoption statistics, Adoption by the Numbers , which is based on an estimate of the number of private domestic adoptions in the United States.