ST. PAUL, Minnesota \u2014 Adoptions in Minnesota are plummeting and Tim Young doesn’t know why.<\/p>\n
Young is in the process of adopting three teenagers as a single parent. But he’s bucking a trend of fewer people adopting in Minnesota and nationwide.<\/p>\n
Especially notable are international adoptions, which peaked in 2004 and have dropped 82% to 4,058, according to the U.S. Department of State.<\/p>\n
In Minnesota, the plunge in international adoptions has been even deeper \u2014 85% in 14 years. Last year, there were 135 in the state.<\/p>\n
Domestic adoptions in the United States \u2014 the placement of infants by their birth parents \u2014 have decreased. That’s in part due to fewer unplanned pregnancies, greater social acceptance of single motherhood and more support systems, according to the State Department, the St. Paul Press Pioneer reported.<\/p>\n
Another reason could be generational, said Rachel Walstad, director of the St. Paul nonprofit MN Adopt. Walstad said that millennials are waiting longer to have kids.<\/p>\n
The decline of international adoptions has been a worldwide trend that affects all receiving countries, not just the United States.<\/p>\n
The cancellation of China’s decades-long one-child policy decreased the number of Chinese babies coming to the United States, according to Children’s Home Society adoption director Alexis Oberdorfer.<\/p>\n
Other countries, such as Guatemala and Ethiopia, have cut down on international adoptions because of concerns about human trafficking.<\/p>\n
There are also fewer international adoptions because of the extensive paperwork process and high cost.<\/p>\n
International orphans are similar to local foster kids in some ways, according to MN Adopt’s Walstad. Many are older children who have experienced trauma, abuse or poverty.<\/p>\n
“The whole landscape of international adoption has changed,” she said.<\/p>\n
But even as the number of domestic and international adoptions plummets, the number of children available through foster care is surging, according to Oberdorfer.<\/p>\n
The No. 1 reason? Opioid-addicted parents, Oberdorfer said.<\/p>\n
The goal of the foster care system is to reunite children with immediate family members. If that doesn’t happen, then they can be adopted.<\/p>\n
According to Children’s Home Society, more than 800 Minnesota foster kids were waiting for adoptive homes in August 2018, the most in a decade.<\/p>\n
From 2017 to 2018, more than 300 children were added to that list.<\/p>\n
“We desperately need people to start looking at the need in their own back yards,” Oberdorfer said.<\/p>\n
When prospective adoptive parents see foster children’s case files, they sometimes conclude that the teenagers are juvenile delinquents.<\/p>\n
“These are kids with some really tough life experiences,” Walstad said. “The reality is that they’re there for no fault of their own.”<\/p>\n
Foster care adoptions in Minnesota have seen a slight uptick, according to Walstad. Last year, 136 kids were adopted, but even more aged out of the system.<\/p>\n
As a single, 59-year-old empty-nester, Young knew he wanted to adopt older kids. He began by looking at more than 100 video profiles on the MN Adopt website.<\/p>\n
“‘You’re crazy,’ was what a lot of my friends told me,” Young said. “But the main thing I am is a parent. It’s what I’ve always wanted to be.”<\/p>\n
Last fall, Young connected with a sibling group \u2014 Summer, now 18; Raymond, 17; and Shawn, 15 \u2014 on the website.<\/p>\n
Their video was made by the Reel Hope Project, a local nonprofit that introduces adoptive parents to kids in foster care through two-minute films.<\/p>\n
Young received the original video he saw of Summer, Raymond and Shawn while he was naming his fishing boat. Only one option for the name came to mind \u2014 Reel Hope.<\/p>\n
“We have not caught one fish, not even a little thing to throw back,” Young said. “I’m just happy to spend time on the water with the kids.”<\/p>\n
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ST. PAUL, Minnesota \u2014 Adoptions in Minnesota are plummeting and Tim Young doesn’t know why. Young is in the process of adopting three teenagers as a single parent. But he’s bucking a trend of fewer people adopting in Minnesota and nationwide. Especially notable are international adoptions, which peaked in 2004 and have dropped 82% to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2536],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","never_free"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n