Adoptions Down Under are Down

From the Australian:

ADOPTION continues to fall out of favour in Australia, with just 384 recorded in 2010-11 -- the lowest on record.

The decline is a result of changing conditions in countries that previously provided inter-country adoptions, such as South Korea, along with a fall in the number of local children considered in need of adoption, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found.

In a report titled Adoptions Australia 2010-11, released yesterday, the AIHW noted that more than half the adoptions in the year were from overseas, and most of the local adoptions were of known children, where there was a pre-existing relationship with a step-parent or carer.

Just 49 Australian-born children outside the known category were adopted in the 2010-11 year, the institute found.

Read more here.

MR