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How many children find a new adoptive or foster family each year? And how many new applications for adoption and foster care are reported by the state authorities? We share some of the statistics from the reports of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in the field of social and legal protection of children.
Data from the years 2020-2023 show us that there was no significant difference in the number of children placed in adoption or foster care between these years, except for temporary foster care, where a gradual increase in the number of children placed into the care of temporary foster parents can be observed.
The number of applicants for adoption, who successfully finish the adoption assesment process and are included in the register of suitable persons to become adoptive parents each year, is consistently several times higher than the number of children adopted each year. The number of children placed in foster care is also consistently several times higher than the number of adopted children. Roughly two-thirds of children placed in foster care are placed into the care of their relatives or close persons.
Before finalizing an adoption of a child, the prospective adoptive parent(s) must take care of the child for at least 6 months as part of the pre-adoption care. This period is set by law to provide for an evaluation period to prove that a safe and stable relationship has been established between the child and the adoptive parent. Only after this period has passed can the adoption be finalized.
In 2023, 435 children were placed in the care of future adoptive parents (pre-adoption care), and 395 children had their adoption finalized (after six months of pre-adoption care). In total, 830 children were in the process of being adopted or had their adoption completed in 2023.
In 2022, 405 children were placed in the pre-adoption care, and 302 children had their adoption finalized (a total of 707 children). In 2021, 373 children were placed in pre-adoption care, and 369 children had their adoption finalized that year (a total of 742 children). In 2020, 449 children were placed in pre-adoption care and 312 children had their adoption finalized (761 children in total).
Similar to adoption, the court can place a child into pre-foster care. Its length is determined taking into account all circumstances of the case, and the court supervises the progress and success of pre-foster care.
From 2022, a distinction is made between mediated foster care and non-mediated foster care. Mediated foster care is such care where a child is "matched" with a family by the regional office and the foster parents are notified of their match with the selected child. In non-mediated foster care, the child is cared for by other relatives or persons close to the child, most commonly grandparents.
In 2023, a total of 1,615 children were placed in long-term foster care (mediated and unmediated), 142 children were further placed in pre-foster care and 833 children were placed in temporary foster care.
In 2022, 1,542 children were placed in long-term foster care (mediated and unmediated), 106 children were placed in pre-foster care and 671 children were placed in temporary foster care. In 2021, 1,656 children were placed in long-term foster care, 126 children placed in pre-foster care, and 665 children placed in temporary foster care. In 2020, 1,564 children were placed in long-term foster care, 119 children were placed in pre-foster care, and 616 children were placed in temporary foster care.
The adoption or foster care application can be submitted at the department of child protective services (OSPOD - social and legal protection of children) in the place of permanent residence of the applicants. When submitting it, applicants specify what form of care they want to provide for the child - adoption, foster care, or temporary foster care.
In 2023, a total of 436 new adoption applications were submitted, as well as 397 applications for long-term foster care and 200 applications for temporary foster care. At the end of 2023, there were a total of 1,169 applicants for adoption who had successfully passed a professional assessment and were included in the register of persons suitable to become adoptive parents (evidence osob vhodných stát se osvojiteli/ pěstouny).
In 2022, there were 483 new adoption applications, 367 applications for long-term foster care and 221 applications for temporary foster care. In 2021, total of 540 applications for adoption, 380 applications for long-term foster care and 120 applications for temporary foster care were submitted. In 2020, there were 485 applications for adoption, 315 applications for long-term foster care and 121 applications for temporary foster care.
If it is not possible to find a suitable adoptive or foster family for a child in his or her country of origin, international adoption can be a solution to this situation. The rules for international adoption are set out in the The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). In the Czech Republic, the Office for International Legal Protection of Children (UMPOD) is responsible for coordinating the international adoption of children between countries that must be bound by the Convention. The Office does not interfere with or support adoptions of children from countries that have not acceded to the Convention.
Between 2019 and 2023, only two children of foreign nationality were adopted into the Czech Republic. The adopted children came from 2 different countries - India (in 2020) and Vietnam (in 2021).
In the same period (2019-2023), a total of 94 intercountry adoptions from the Czech Republic to foreign countries were facilitated. The most frequent adoptions of Czech children were to Italy and Spain (a total of 15 children to each country), followed by Germany and Iceland (13 children to each country), as well as Sweden (11 children) and Denmark (10 children).
| State | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Iceland | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Italy | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Liechtenstein | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Germany | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Austria | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Spain | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Sweden | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 30 | 17 | 22 | 13 | 12 |
According to the qualified estimates of the staff of regional authorities who search for foster families for children, the proportion of Roma children for whom adoption or foster care is successfully mediated is lower than for children of the majority ethnic group. The difference is mainly attributed to the lack of applicants for adoption or foster care who would be willing to take in a Roma child.
In 2020, approximately two-fifths of the total number of children of Roma ethnicity for whom adoption or foster care had to be arranged were on the records of regional authorities. Of the children newly placed on the register in that year, approximately one in three were of Roma ethnicity. The number of Roma children registered with regional authorities was highest in the Ústí nad Labem Region, followed by the Moravian-Silesian and South Moravian Regions. On the other hand, the lowest numbers of Roma children were estimated in the Zlín and Pardubice regions.
According to the majority of the staff of municipalities with extended competence and regional authorities who receive and assess applications for adoption or foster care, only 10-20 % of the applicants are open to adopting or fostering a child of Roma ethnicity. The staff also agree that it would be desirable if there were more Roma applicants for adoption or foster care. Nevertheless, their experience with Roma applicants is very rare.
© All images were used from the platform Pexels.com and archives of the Adotion and Foster Care Center.