Here are some fast facts and information about adoption in BC. All numbers supplied by the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), current as of November 2019.

Families in BC adopted 1,400 kids from government care in the past five years, but there are many more children and youth who are still waiting.

Quick facts

• Adoptive families are incredibly diverse, just like the rest of BC. Any BC resident age 19 or older can apply to adopt!
• Approximately 750 children and youth in government care in BC have adoption in their care plans and are waiting to be adopted.
• If just 0.4% of Canadians who have considered adopting from foster care followed through, then every child in Canada’s government care system would have a safe, loving, and permanent home.
• 87% of the children and youth with adoption in their care plans are school-aged (between 4 and 18 years old), and 35% are teenagers (over the age of 12).
• 40% of them are part of sibling groups that need to be adopted together.
• 59% are Indigenous.

What kinds of families are needed?

Adoption matches are based on the best fit for the child. That means that some waiting families will be matched quickly, while others will wait longer. The greatest need is for adoptive parents who are:

• Indigenous,
• open to adopting siblings,
• open to adopting a teenager; and/or
• open to adopting children with additional needs (such as early abuse or neglect, behavioural challenges, learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder).