Are There More Children in Need of Adoption or More Parents Wanting to Adopt?

Question

Are There More Children in Need of Adoption or More Parents Wanting to Adopt?

Answer 1

I'm thinking there are more children than parents.

The downside is that the majority of children waiting for families are older and the majority of people looking to adopt are looking for the elusive healthy newborn. So even if there were 10 PAPs for every child most of the children would still age out of foster care. There are just more people looking for infants than people looking for older kids. Let me note that I am thinking about domestic adoptions here... as for international I have zero clue and willingly admit it.

Answer 2

If it's a healthy white baby, then there are many more parents wanting to adopt. However, if it's an older child, one with handicaps, or a nonwhite child, then there are many more children available than parents. The sad thing is because healthy white babies are so desirable, those with more money have a better chance of getting one than someone of more modest means. That's why they end up on waiting lists for years while rich people such as celebrities seem to be able to get them almost immediately.

Answer 3

If you look online at just the kids waiting in foster care to be adopted, you will be shocked.  Everyone wants a baby (or so it seems) and therefore there are hundreds of thousands of kids waiting in foster care waiting for forever families because they are older, part of sibling groups, or have certain disabilities.

Answer 4

There are many children in foster care right now who needs homes.  

There are many PAPs currently waiting for their chance to adopt a perfect, healthy, newborn baby.  These PAPs have not considered adoption through foster care for whatever reason.

I personally think that if the PAPs were educated a little bit more about the needs of the foster kids, and told that realistically the statistics of adopting that perfect newborn baby, more children would find homes.  Agencies however have no financial interest in the foster care children, so most agencies will never mention to the PAPs that there are currently over 100,000 children in the US right now waiting for homes.  If they do, the PAPs will give reasons such as, not wanting to deal with someone else's problem...not being prepared to parent an older child (even though seriously, a baby is a lot more work then a five year old who is all ready feeding himself and using the toilet on his own!)...wanting to experience having a baby in the house.  There are many other reasons, PAPs who have considered foster care brush it off as not for them.

Though, I think we need to somehow make it for them, because adoption is NOT about finding children for parents, but parents for children.  Though the adoption industry caters to the PAPs because they are the ones supplying the money.

Answer 5

more kids needing to be adopted

but it takes so long and its soo expensive that many people don't adopt

its sad.. especially when they want to adopt a child from a different country.. the flight there and back is expensive enough

Answer 6

There is more kids that need a loving home!

Answer 7

The system makes it so hard for the regular Joe to adopt and that is so sad because there are more children then parents wanting them.  It is also a no question, if you are looking for healthy white BABY it takes forever.  It took us 3 years before we got our son.  We had 2 sets of twin girls so we were done and we have our little boy now.  We may not be bioligical but he was born in my heart.  (people always say he looks like my hubby lol we never tell them)

Answer 8

there are estimated to be 210 million children in foster care and orphanages.....way more than the number of parents wanting to adopt.

Answer 9

There are more children in total

There are more healthy infants than parents

There are more parents then there are WHITE healthy infants.

Infertility is more common in white women (I don't know about men haven't read any of those stats) then in any other race.

Many white couples only want to adopt white babies.

Statistically a white women is less likely to put her baby up for adoption.

Answer 10

more children...most arent babies therefore all those perfect parents waiting wont take them...

Answer 11

There are definitely more children that need to be adopted than parents wanting children.

Answer 12

hey.....

im looking to be adotped....maybe not in real life at first but online...i mean im looking to meet someone online on an adoption servise and everything and then it goes from there...if your interested then hit me up

Answer 13

more children in need of adoption!

Answer 14

there will always be a large number of kids needing to be adopted. The thing is many want babies under the age of 1 and many out there who need homes are 1+. Those are the children in need bc as they get older fewer people want them and soon they will have lived a life alone for their whole childhood and around age 16-18 they are kicked out and on their own.

Answer 15

probably about equal.....numerically . It's just that there are more people wanting to adopt healthy infants, then there are healthy infants.

Answer 16

For newborns without special needs, there are more parents wanting to adopt.

For older children and infants with special needs, there are more children in need of adoption.

So I guess it depends.

Answer 17

My wife and I would love to adopt three sibling. But $$ is  a huge concern. But that doesn't answer your question.  Yes I think there are more children in need of adoption then parents waiting/wanting to adopt.

Answer 18

It depends.  Here in Canada, in SAskatchewan there are more parents than kids, and that includes older children.  In ONtario, many people sit on waiting lists forever waiting for a baby, but there are children who sit in care for a long time waiting for a family.

So I think it varies from region to region.

Answer 19

There are more children waiting for homes than their are parents looking to adopt right now.  Most of the children are also 1 year and older and most parents looking to adopt are wanting babies.

Answer 20

Worldwide, many, many more children need homes than there are families waiting to adopt.

Answer 21

There are more children who need homes. Lots of people want to adopt babies, not older kids. The older kids are the ones we should worry about. Children need us until they are 18, no younger.

Answer 22

more kids, but too many people wanting to adopt babies.

Answer 23

There are many many many children in the foster care system that need families, there are many non-white children, older kids, children with some health issues/handicaps  that need families. Unfortunately the majority of potential adoptive parents are white and want a white healthy  infant or very young toddler.  They are willing to wait years to get that white infant or pay big bucks and in some cases go out of the country.

In foreign countries there are also many children that are in orphanages that need families too. Often this orphanages aren’t really in the best of conditions, the staff is generally understaffed and thus the kids really don’t get the one on one attention that kids need.  However again most PAP parents want a child that is young even if they are willing to take an older child often it’s a child that 3 years or younger.

There are probably more children in need of adoption. If you look at all the kid in the American FCS and Kids who are living in foreign orphanages.  There are more white PAP who are wanting strictly a healthy white infant and wouldn't be willing to take a child that is not white or a child that is older.

Answer 24

Well there are alot more parents looking to adopt infants than infants available. But as far as children of other ages.... wow there are so many that need good homes. I have 3 foster children in addition to my 3 kids (4th on the way) and there are so many kids that need placement. Adolesents have the hardest time being placed... and they feel that no one wants them.

Answer 25

Hi Einahpets,

There are two answers to your question if you are considering the American adoption system:

1)  There are over 150,000 children waiting to be adopted in American foster care right now.  There is a surplus of needy children who cannot find adoptive parents who will offer their homes to them.

2)  There are many prospective adoptive parents who are waiting years & years on waiting lists to offer their home to a child.  However; they do not want just any child.  They specifically want a healthy, white, newborn baby.  Those specific babies are rarely in need of adoptive services.  Since there are 90 couples waiting for every 1 such available baby fitting that description, you can say there is a surplus of these adoptive parents who will offer their homes to these children.

If there has to be a surplus of either children or available adoptive homes for them, it is preferable to have more available homes so that there is a better chance of finding the best home for each specific child who needs one.  If prospective adoptive parents really want to be parents, they should be encouraged to expand their idea of who an acceptable child deserving of their love can be.  They could be matched up now because those are the available children who are in greatest need of homes.

Good question.  Thanks for asking.

julie j

reunited adoptee

Answer 26

More children in need of adoption.  Trouble is many (not all) people wanting to adopt overlook those most in need of loving homes