International adoptions: Italy discovers Asia

Last year’s growth in international adoptions remains constant during the first half of 2008. In Italy, 1,647 adoptions have successfully been carried out since January, reveals a report published by the Italian Commission on International Adoptions, Cai. These are the main findings.

Couples: more and older

Since 2000, 24.4 out of every 100 thousand couples, between the age of 30-59, who reside in Italy, have requested permission to bring foreign children into the country. 96% of couples have been deemed suitable immediately, following a regulation from the minors court while the rest have had to wait for their eligibility to be approved by the Court of Appeal.

Children: Asia is the new frontier

2007 was Italy’s record year for adoptions, proved by the increased numbers of adoptions by month. 2008’s results, so far, are in line with last year’s trend (adoptions having only dropped by 1.7%) in the first six months.

The comparison between last year and this year shows that 2007’s first six months saw the greatest number of adoptions ever (1,676), May being the month with the highest number of children adopted (329). In the first semester of 2008, during which time 1,647 adoptions were carried out, March was the month with the highest number with 328.  

But the greatest surprise is the origin of the children being adopted by Italian parents. Since the beginning of 2007 there has been a change in the most popular countries of origin, in particular Eastern European countries loosing their primacy to other nations. The data for 2008 shows that the trend is a definite one: in the first few months of 2008 the most children came from Ukraine (14.5%), Colombia (11.1%), Brazil (9.3%), Vietnam (8.5%), Ethiopia (8.1%), Poland (7.4%), Russian Federation (6.5%), Cambodia (5.5%) and India (4.3%).

Significantly, many of these countries were not popular countries of origin in 2001. In that year no Cambodian children were adopted in Italy, while last year 91 were. While in 2001 only 36 Vietnamese children were adopted, in 2007 the number increased to 263 and in the first few months of 2008 there have already been 140.

Another important trend is that there is an increasing number of origin countries for the international adoption “market”: since 2004, 20 countries have added themselves to the list, including Armenia, Kazakistan, Latvia, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritius, the Central African Republic, the Dominican Republic, Senegal and Uruguay.

The organizations in Italy that carried out the most adoptions during 2008’s first semester are: Cifa 142 (of which 42 just from Cambodia); Naaa 90; Famiglia e Minori (Family and Minors) 88; AiBi 80; Ciai 63; Ami 50; Gruppo Volontariato e Solidarieta’ (Voluntary Work and Solidarity Group) 48; Aipa 47; Spai 46; Enzo B 45.

Translation from Italian by: Cristina Barbetta