Minister concerned: Too few people want to adopt Danish children

There are worryingly few people who want to adopt Danish children at the moment.

This is what Minister of Social Affairs Sophie Hæstorp Andersen said in a briefing to the social affairs rapporteurs at Christiansborg.

- The situation has received great attention from my side, as it is important that we have adopters to welcome the children who are considered to be best helped through adoption and a new family to grow up in, the minister writes in the briefing.

Harder to find a good match

The minister's briefing shows that at the beginning of November 2025, there were 13 adoptive families on the adoption list, while there were 8 children waiting for matching.

Over the past six years, an average of 35 children have been placed for national adoption per year.

The Social Democrats' social affairs spokesperson Camilla Fabricius takes the minister's briefing seriously.

- It's worrying when you have children who have been adopted out and there isn't a family ready. If you adopt out a child, they also need to have a family to go to, and that's not how it looks right now, she says.

For the best interests of the child

In the series For Barnets Bedste, TV2 ØST examines the consequences of adopting Danish children.

You can find the series here .

Unfold

In the briefing, the minister writes that the lack of adopters makes it more difficult to "ensure a field of applicants with the widest possible breadth".

And that is problematic, says Katrine Daugaard, social affairs spokesperson in the Liberal Alliance.

Katrine Daugaard is the social affairs spokesperson for the Liberal Alliance. | Photo: David Engholm - TV2 ØST

- That's because it's also important that you match correctly. That is, you don't just take the hassle out of it, but that you can still make the right match for the child, she says.

Withdrawn from waiting list

In April, a Supreme Court ruling came that had a major impact on the adoption field.

Here, Stephanie Nordal Clemmensen, who is the biological mother of an adopted child, was granted access in the form of pictures and observations of the child she had adopted against her will five years earlier.

On April 3, Stephanie Nordal Clemmensen received the Supreme Court's word that she may receive pictures of and observe her forcibly adopted son. | Photo: Tina Mortensen - TV2 ØST

The verdict prompted an adoptive father from Zealand to withdraw from the waiting list for national adoption .

He and his spouse had already adopted a son in 2020. Later, the biological mother also applied for visitation. Although she was not granted visitation in their case, the Supreme Court ruling meant that the couple would not adopt another child.

- Based on the Supreme Court ruling, we have chosen to say that we will not have another child, as we currently cannot foresee the potential consequences if contact with the biological parents is ordered, the adoptive father told TV2 ØST on April 13.

Anonymization

The adoptive father has been anonymized, as the adoption took place anonymously and therefore cannot be compromised. TV2 ØST knows the identity of the adoptive father.

Unfold

He predicted at the time that the number of adoptive families on the waiting list would decrease further.

"Based on our own history, I would assume that the number of potential adopters will decrease. I assume that this will mean that more children will end up in foster care or orphanages, and they will therefore not create this family relationship that they would achieve through adoption," he said.

Hard to see what you're getting into

According to Adoption & Society, there are several adoptees who feel the same way as the adoptive father.

- There are definitely some who opt out because there is a great deal of uncertainty about whether there will be lawsuits about access. It can be difficult for prospective adopters to see what they are getting into, says Sanne Nyvang, who is the person in charge of Adoption & Society.

However, she also believes that there are adoptive parents who are open to visitation.

There is definitely a need for support to be put in place.

— Sanne Nyvang, head of Adoption & Society

- For some, it is incredibly difficult to see that there are also biological parents. For others, it is a gift, and something that you can easily see can have a positive impact on the family and especially the child, says Sanne Nyvang.

Therefore, she believes that much more needs to be done to prepare and support adoptive families.

- The adoptive parents are left very much alone with these questions about visitation. There is definitely a need for support to be provided on how to handle the situation surrounding the biological parents, how to communicate with them, how to set up meetings and hold them.

- Much more support is needed because they are not educated in what foster parents are, she says.

New adoption system on the way

At Christiansborg, the two social affairs spokespeople agree that more must be done for adoptive families.

- The least you can do is to dress those who will be carrying out these tasks better than we do today, says Katrine Daugaard (LA).

- I want to work towards much greater transparency in knowing what is expected of the adoptive parents, and I don't think we have done that well enough. I think we can do better, says Camilla Fabricius (S).

Social Democrats' social affairs spokesperson Camilla Fabricius will work for a more transparent adoption system. | Photo: Jacob Bagge Jensen - TV2Øst

In June 2025, a working group was established under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing to conduct an analysis of the adoption area.

The working group is expected to issue a report with proposals for the future adoption system by the summer of 2026.