Two-Way Street

[Map: Jeff Papa]

The flow of children adopted internationally goes both into and out of the U.S. Each year, families overseas adopt several dozen American children, with Florida the No. 1 source of children. Thirty-three out of the 51 American children — 65% — adopted by parents overseas in 2008-09 came from Florida, not counting adoptions of special-needs children.

Families in the Netherlands adopt the vast majority of the children. Hans van Hooff, a legal adviser for the International Social Service Netherlands, says the number of Dutch children available for adoption has decreased dramatically over the past several decades because there’s greater access to contraception, fewer single mothers are giving up their children for adoption, and abortion has become legal and more available. For many women in the Netherlands, international adoption is often the only option. With fewer children available for adoption from China, many Dutch couples have chosen to adopt American-born babies.