Adoption statistics for Western Australia 2011/12

When I discuss adoption in the real world, people are always asking me questions. Quite often people tell me that I will have a 'baby in no time'! If only it were that easy. A few years back I put some stats up from AIHW with how many children were adopted in Australia. I've just been reading through the latest annual report for the agency that manages adoption in Western Australia and thought I'd update people on the latest statistics.

In the 12 months July 2011-June 2012, there were 26 adoptions finalised. Sounds like a lot right? Well 18 of those adoptions were 'known' adoptions, basically where a step-parent adopts a child or the adoption of an adult. So that leaves 8 adoptions that were 'unknown'. Five of those were intercountry adoptions. Only three were local adoptions in WA, and only 55 local adoptions were finalised across Australia. The year before, it was 4 local adoptions; in 09/10 there were 12, and 08/09 there was 7. The numbers are up and down, but even over the last couple of years, the numbers have dropped.

Some other facts:

•  36% of the local adoptions were of infants aged under 12 months
• The median age of the birth mothers of children who were the subject of a finalised local
  adoption in 2011–12 was 22, with ages ranging from 15 to 43.
• Almost all (95%) local adoptions finalised in 2011–12 could be considered ‘open’—that is, all parties were happy to allow a degree of contact or information exchange to occur between families

The odds aren't in our favour, I know that. But you have to have something to hold on to, something to hope for. You never know what's around the corner.


References:
Adoptions Australia 2011-12
DCP Annual Report 2011-12