Building Transnational Families: California International Adoption Agencies and the Global Market for Adoptable Children

Sarah Macdonald
Sociology
UC Berkeley

California is the center of international adoption in the United States. Californians have adopted 16,792 children from abroad between 1999-2011 making California the number one receiving state for internationally adopted children in the United States (Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State). This project focuses on the Californians who adopt children from abroad and the adoption agencies that make the migration of children from abroad to California possible. By considering California as a location at the center of a transnational market that operates across state and national borders, this project contributes to our understanding of how organizations facilitate migration to California and why parents from California adopt from abroad so frequently. Through interviews with parents and adoption agency professionals, this project investigates broad trends related to adoption in California, the changing landscape of international adoption within the state, and the future of international adoption to California.