U.S.-born kids source of more adoptions

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- International restrictions on foreign adoptions and concerns over human rights resulted in the adoption of more U.S.-born children, USA Today said.

Potential parents asking about adopting children from foster care rose 47 percent in 2007 and several adoption agencies reported an increased interest in U.S.-born children from 2006 to 2007, USA Today said Monday in an independent survey.

The Michigan-based Bethany Christian Services saw a greater than 15 percent increase in inquiries from foster care and adoptions. The U.S. State Department reports a similar reverse trend in the number of foreign children adopted by Americans.

USA Today says the interest in U.S.-born children is in part due to the waiting period for adopting abroad.

China, once the leading foreign source of children, imposed restrictions on adopting to single, homosexual, low-income and elderly applicants, which further prohibits the process.

Paul Placek with the National Council for Adoption said the supply does not meet demand as less than 1 percent of unmarried pregnant woman offer unwanted children up for adoption.

"The interest is there in domestic adoptions, but the supply of babies is not," he said.