International adoption is seen by some as a solution to the large number of children in institutional care. However, our previous findings did not support the notion that international adoption contributes to the deinstitutionalisation of children (Browne and Chou, ; Chou and Browne, ). As our previous study was cross‐sectional, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship over time in a country that has banned international adoptions (Romania) and a country that has continued the practice (Lithuania). The numbers of children in care and the numbers of adoptions were obtained from government websites and by contacting government departments. A positive correlation was found between institutional care and international adoption in Romania between 1997 and 2012. The findings for Romania indicated that stopping international adoption was not accompanied by an increase in the number of children in institutional care. A reduction in institutional care in Romania only occurred after the ban on international adoption. However, no correlation was found for Lithuania as both practices remained constant between 2000 and 2012. The findings for Lithuania showed that continued international adoption was not accompanied by a reduction in institutional care. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ‘To investigate the relationship over time in a country that has banned international adoptions… and a country that has continued the practice’ Key Practitioner Messages The notion of international adoption being a viable way to reduce the extent of institutional care is not supported by evidence. The differences in the levels of national income and birth rates cannot always explain the differences in the development of children's services between countries.