Adoption News

Adopted Children Of The Householder Were Under Age 18 Making Up 2.5 Percent Of All Children

In 2000, 1.6 million adopted children of the householder were under age 18, making up 2.5 percent of all children of the householder under 18 (see Table 1). An additional 473,000 adopted children of the householder were aged 18 and
over, again representing 2.5 percent of all children of the householder of that age group.

In 2000, there were more than twice as many stepchildren (4.4 million) as adopted children (2.1 million),7 with stepchildren representing 5 percent of children of the householder. The distribution of children in different age groups by type of relationship reveals marked differences associated with how the children became members of the household.

The age distribution of biological children of the householder up to age 18 is primarily a consequence of the number of babies born each year, which has been relatively constant since the early 1980s.8 As a result, the proportions of biological children in each of the three 6-year age groups shown in Figure 2 differ slightly (25 to 27 percent). Percentages were smaller for both adopted children (19 percent) and stepchildren (8 percent) than for biological children (25 percent) under 6 years compared with the older age groups (see Figure 2).

These differences probably reflectthe time it takes to finalize theadoption process, as well as the decreasing number of infants in the United States in need of adoption,9 and the fact that children who are adopted by their stepparents would likely be at least several years old, having come from a previous marital union. For all three types of children, similar proportions were aged 18 and over, about 23 percent for adopted children and stepchildren and 25 percent for biological
children.

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	Did You Know?
	Most adoptive parents are two parent families Most adoptive parents are two parent families aged 31 to 40. A growing number of parents are aged 41 to 49. Most parents attended or completed college. Children can be adopted from other countries Adopting children from all over the world has become something U.S. residents and citizens have been doing more and more when starting or expanding their families. Over 20,000 inter-country adoptions are taking place per year in addition to the more than Adoption assistance is available Monthly or one-time only subsidy payments to help adoptive parents raise children with special needs. These payments were initially made possible by the enactment of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272) which provided Federa