First Summary of International Adoption Dissolution (Disruption) Data

I have been collecting information since before this blog began in November 2010. Last June, I added a survey to collect information. I will continue to collect information indefinitely. Access the survey here or check it out on our homepage. I do not require names nor will disclose identifying information. Cases that you are not personally involved with also can be sent to me or entered into the survey.

The goal is to have a starting point by defining some quantitative information. I mentioned the figure of 116 in my What Annoys Me post three weeks ago here. Well, the total number is now 121 and climbing.

So far, there has not been a lot of effort put into this. I say this because I want you to know that

(1) collecting this much information was simple (so anyone in the government or well-heeled adoption industry could do so if they really wanted to. In fact a meeting was held not too long ago in DC in which a roundtable met on this subject– a roundtable THAT HAD NO QUANTITATIVE DATA. I’d laugh at that if this wasn’t so serious, but unfortunately I have read all of these stories) and

(2) this is merely the tippy-top of the iceberg of cases.

Gender

I think this will surprise many readers.

There were 61 girls and 44 boys. In 16 cases, the gender is not known.

Regions and Countries

Regions at a glance: Africa 20; Latin America 6; Europe/Central Asia: 52  

Country	Number
Liberia	5
Haiti	14
Ethiopia	9
Africa	3
China	10
Ukraine	13
Russia	24
India	7
Sierra Leone	1
Colombia	1
Kaz	2
Guat	2
Latin America	3
Eastern Europe	9
Estonia	2
Bulgaria	1
Ghana	1
Korea	1
Vietnam	1
East Africa	1
Western Europe	1
Philippines	1
Unknown	9

Age at Time of Disruption

Age	Quantity
2	3
3	2
4	1
5	4
6	7
7	8
8	9
9	12
10	6
11	9
12	7
13	7
14	6
15	6
16	5
17	1
18	1
19	1
Unknown	22
Over age 10	1
Over age 4	1
Teenager	2

How Many Months/Years Postplacement Did the Child Disrupt?

I think many will be surprised at the quantity of children that disrupted after 2 or more years.

Years Postplacement	Quantity
Less than 3 months	6
Less than 6 months	3
Less than 1 yr	4
1 yr	16
1-2 yrs	7
2	8
2-3 yrs	3
3	7
3-4 yrs	2
4	6
5	5
5-6 years	2
6	3
7	3
8	2
10	1
Unknown	43

Snapshot of Reasons For Disruption
This is preliminary data. Some cases give overlapping reasons for disruption.We will delve deeper into the reasons in the coming months.

The lead reason is attachment. In many cases, the term RAD is used which indicates a failure to bond with that particular adoptive family. There are 43 cases in which attachment was indicated.

The second most common reason is other mental health disorders. PTSD and ADHD are commonly among those. There are 40 cases.

The third most common reason is a medical condition. There are 22 cases.

Sexually acting out is indicated in 15 cases.

FAS is indicated in 6 cases

Violence is indicated in 4 cases.

The child didn’t want to be adopted/be in US in 4 cases. These were older children. This is part of the reason that we talk about risk factors and appropriate placements for older children.

One case involved a second disruption.

Lastly, as the months go by there are more cases coming from China and Ethiopia.

REFORM Puzzle Pieces