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MPR News with Angela Davis
Angela Davis and Sarah Gelbard

The state of international adoption

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Americans adopting children from outside of the United States hit its peak in 2005 with just over 23,000 international adoptions. In 2020, that number fell to less than 2,000 children being adopted from other countries by Americans. 

There’s no single cause of the decline, but experts point to changing rules concerning adoptive parents’ age, marital status and employment. There’s also been a rise in awareness of social-emotional concerns related to cross-racial adoption. Coupled with these reasons, 2020 brought a global pandemic which also affected international adoption.

Historically, armed conflict around the world has led to spikes in international adoptions. Will this be the case in Ukraine? Will the war result in orphans seeking homes elsewhere? Or could it result in displaced children being adopted without their parents having ceded their rights? In Minnesota, how do international adoptees and their families navigate social health issues, or questions about cultural and racial identity?

On Thursday, host Angela Davis talked to adoption experts, and international adoptees about the current state of international adoptions.

Guests: 

  • Dr. Kimara Gustafson is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, and a pediatrician with the adoption medicine clinic at the University of Minnesota. 

  • Heidi Wiste is the president of Children’s Home Society of Minnesota and the associate vice president of adoption of its partner organization, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. 

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.