Adoption in Argentina plummets, leaving children waiting

Argentina is experiencing a dramatic decline in adoption applications, with a stark 80% drop since 2017. In 2024, only 1107 individuals or couples are eligible to adopt, a significant decrease from 5500 seven years prior. This shortage has profound consequences for children awaiting families, as their chances diminish with age, and many are aged out of the system upon reaching adulthood.

The preferences of potential adoptive parents heavily skew towards very young children. Approximately 81% of applicants seek children under three years old. In contrast, only 2% are open to adopting children over 10, and a mere 1.6% are willing to adopt children with disabilities. Furthermore, 74% of applicants are unwilling to adopt sibling groups, leaving many children separated from their brothers and sisters.

In 2020, a report indicated that 9154 children lived in foster care or institutional settings, with 2199 deemed eligible for adoption. Decades of bureaucratic hurdles and lengthy processes have discouraged many prospective parents. While legal reforms in 2017 aimed to improve the situation, deeply ingrained prejudices persist. Campaigns are crucial to streamline adoption procedures and sensitize the public to the needs of children.

To address the crisis, the National Directorate of the Unique Registry of Applicants for Guardianship for Adoption (Dnrua) proposes integrating an adoption pre-registration portal into the "Mi Argentina" platform. This initiative, inspired by successful public calls for other needs, aims to broaden the pool of applicants. Online adoption applications, like those piloted in Cordoba, are also seen as vital steps to simplify the process. Factors such as increased access to assisted fertility treatments, cultural shifts in life planning, and economic concerns may contribute to the declining interest in adoption, but the core message remains: adoption transforms lives.