Census Statistics Show Characteristics of Adopted Children and Stepchildren

Approximately 4.5 million children in the United States live either as adopted children or as stepchildren. In the latest U.S. Census report, considerable information was gathered about those children.

There does not appear to be an appreciable difference geographically regarding the adoption of children. The percentage ranged from 2.2 to 2.5 percent of children across the various regions. The states with the lowest percentages of adoptees were California, New York, New Jersey and Texas, and Alaska led the country in number of adoptees, though officials attribute that to the prevalence of informal adoptions among Native Americans.

One of the more telling statistics of the Census study relates to the gender of adopted children, stepchildren and biological children. For the period from 2009-2011, for every single age group, the number of girls adopted significantly exceeded the number of boys. Among infants, there were 10 girls adopted for every nine boys. Among three year olds, there were less than eight boys adopted for every 10 girls. Even among 16 year olds, where the numbers were the closest. There were 100 girls for every 95 or so boys.

The numbers were almost exactly the opposite with respect to stepchildren and biological children. Among one-year-old boys, there were nearly 125 boys taken in as stepchildren to every 100 girls. Only four ages—6,7,8 and 16—had more girls being taken in as stepchildren. And at every age, there were more biological girls in the home than boys.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

At the law office of Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC, our lawyers bring more than 25 years of experience to every matter we handle. Attorney Donald C. Cofsky has personally handled more than 1,500 adoption proceedings since joining the bar in 1974. Attorney Bruce D. Zeidman has protected the interests of clients in state and federal courts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania since 1984. We understand the challenges you face, and can help you identify all your options so that you can make good decisions that are in your best long-term interests.

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.