Foreign adoptions by Americans reach lowest mark since 1981

The Star- Tribune reports:

The number of foreign children adopted by U.S. parents dropped by 12 percent last year to the lowest level since 1981, according to new State Department figures.

The department's report for the 2015 fiscal year shows 5,648 adoptions from abroad, down from 6,438 in 2014 and about 75 percent below the high of 22,884 in 2004. The number has fallen every year since then, to the frustration of many adoption advocates in the U.S.

China, as is customary, accounted for the most children adopted in the U.S. Its total of 2,354 was up 15 percent from 2014, but far below the peak of 7,903 in 2005.

However, there was a sharp drop in adoptions from other countries that had been high on the 2014 list: The numbers fell from 716 to 335 for Ethiopia, from 521 to 303 for Ukraine and from 464 to 143 for Haiti.

Even with the decline, Ethiopia was No. 2 on the list, followed by South Korea, Ukraine, Uganda, Bulgaria, Latvia and Congo.

Lawmakers in Uganda passed a bill in March that sets tough new conditions for adoptions by foreigners, so its numbers may drop for the 2016 fiscal year from 202 in 2015. The numbers from Congo may rise from the 168 adoptions reported for 2015; authorities there have finally begun issuing long-delayed exit permits for many children who'd been stuck there for more than two years despite court approval of their adoptions.

No word yet on whether Chuck Schumer and Barack Obama looked that the voter registration of American's who want to adopt foreign babies.