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A Des Moines adoption attorney said changes to the rules on international adoptions have discouraged some Americans from adopting abroad.

The Hague Adoption Convention tried to streamline the process by helping families get better access to birth records and upfront fees associated with adoptions.

It was supposed to help prevent child trafficking but attorney Shayla McCormally says it’s played a part in international adoption rates dropping.

“It`s supposed to protect the child also the adopting family. And it does. But at the same time there are more orphans internationally than ever. There are more families who want to adopt more than ever and you just can`t make the connection,” McCormally said.

The U.S. became full members of the convention in 2008. The next year, international adoptions dropped by nearly 5,000.

The Hinze family in Runnells works around those difficulties. Instead of adopting babies….they opted for older kids and those with siblings who can be more difficult to adopt out to families. And they’re thankful they did and feel lucky. In the past decade International adoption has gone from nearly 23,000 in the U.S. to less than 9,000.