Helpful Information for Adopting from China

If you are just beginning to learn about adopting a child from the People's Republic of China there are a few facts you might want to consider:

• The vast majority of the children available for adoption from China are girls, though there are some boys available;



• As of today's posting date, the wait for adopting a healthy baby girl in China (from hiring an agency to returning home) is nearing 3 years (unless you or both of your parents hold passports from China, in which case you would be expedited and your wait would be over a year). Pretty much everyone expects that the waits will increase over the next few years. There is no way to predict, but it's possible that if you started the process now, your wait could be much longer than 3 years;



• If you are interested in adopting an older or special needs child, wait times could be considerably less, but it will probably still take you more than a year to go through the entire adoption process start to finish;



• In order to adopt from China you will have to travel to the country for about two weeks;



• As with all international adoption the rules now set in place to regulate adoption from China could change at any time.

Do You Qualify to Adopt from China?

If after reading the above, you are still interested in adopting from China then you will need to see if you qualify. Chinese restrictions on perspective adoptive parents (PAPs) are some of the most stringent in existence today. As of May 1, 2007 requirements to adopt in China include, but are not limited to:

• Applicants must be at least 30 years old but no older than 50 at the time of dossier submission to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA).
  
  The CCAA generally assigns children approximately 10-12 months of age to applicants where the younger parent is under 45. If the applicants are 46-49, they will be assigned a child of 1-3 years. Applicants cannot be older then 50. Couples who are 50-55 may adopt a waiting child only. Exceptions to these requirements may be granted by the CCAA when adopting special-needs children or children over age 6;



• Single applicants are not eligible. Applicants must be heterosexual and married at least 2 years. If either spouse has been divorced, they must be married at least 5 years. No more than 2 divorces per spouse permitted. At least one prospective parent must be a U.S. citizen to be able to sponsor a child to enter the country;



• Applicants can only adopt one child at a time from China. The adoption of twins is extremely rare and involves a long wait with no guarantee. Applicants who have already adopted a child from China, and would like to adopt a subsequent child, must wait until their 12 month post-placement report has been submitted to the CCAA before submitting their dossier for a subsequent child;



• Families may have no more than 4 children under age 18 living in the home, and the youngest must be at least 1 year old. This requirement does not apply to families adopting a waiting child;



• Both applicants must be in excellent mental and physical health, including a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or less. Applicants who take medication for psychiatric conditions, including depression and anxiety are not eligible. (I have also heard that applicants who undergo any type of psychological therapy are not eligible). Applicants with chronic illness (such as AIDS and cancer), as well as "severe facial deformities" are also excluded;



• One applicant must hold a stable occupation, $10K minimum income per family member (including child to be adopted). Family’s net worth should be at least $80,000 (assets vs. liabilities);



• Both spouses must have at least a high school degree;



• Applicants may not have a criminal record;



• Couples with religious beliefs that prevent any sort of medical treatment, including blood transfusions, for the child, will not be eligible to adopt from China. This also includes religions that use alternatives to blood transfusions, as this is not available in every country.

Research, Research, Research!

Researching international adoption is crucial for a variety of reasons. It helps you:

• Decide if you are ready to adopt internationally
• Find the best country/program to meet your adoptive needs
• Find out about the ins and outs of adopting
• Find an ethical, law-abiding adoption agency

The following links should help you become better-educated on what you need to know to adopt from China.

+ Government Websites

It's always a good idea to see what the Chinese and U.S. governments have to say about adoption in China:

• Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs - This Website is not the easiest one to understand, but if you spend some time on it you will find useful information.
  
  
• U.S. Department of State: Chinese Intercountry Adoption - As of today, this Website was last updated in 2006, but it will still give you a good overview of many of the aspects of adopting from China.

+ Chat Groups

You should DEFINITELY join chat groups on adopting from China. You can learn tons of information by reading about other people's experiences and by asking questions.

There are several great chat groups on Yahoo Groups. Each group has a screening process that you must go through in order to join. It is generally not difficult to complete the process.

Once you have become a member, be aware that some chat groups allow adoption agency representatives to join and some do not, but even when the agencies are not allowed, they may sneak through the screening process. Use your common sense and know that a glowing review written about a particular agency may be coming from an agency representative who is using a pseudonym.

Also, it is a very good idea to read through the questions that have already been posted to the chat group in order to see what you can learn before you post any new questions. Chances are the questions you want answers to have already been asked many times over.

The main groups on Chinese adoption are:

• A China Adoption (ACA) - ACA is a support group for parents and prospective parents adopting from the People's Republic of China. This group is for prospective families at any phase of the adoption process, and also agency representatives. Membership is restricted to folks 30 years of age or older as China requires for adoptions.



• Adoptive Parents China (APC) - APC is a support group for parents and prospective parents adopting from the People's Republic of China. I do not believe that adoption agency representatives are allowed to join this group, though this does not mean they don't sneak through the screening process.



• Rate Your China Adoption Agency - This group provides a forum for people who have adopted children from the People's Republic of China to disclose their experience with their adoption agency. It also provides a source for prospective adoptive parents to get information on various agencies. It is open to anyone who has already adopted from China, is in the process of doing so, or is seriously contemplating a Chinese adoption. Members are permitted to "vent" about their agency, if their experience was negative.However, it is also expected that they will do so with courtesy and truthfulness. Adoption agency representatives are not allowed to join this group.



• Rate Your Special Needs Chinese Adoption Agency - This group is for those who have already adopted a special needs child from China or are researching to find an agency that has good standing in the Adoption Community. This list is for the good, the bad, the ugly to be told without the risk of being flamed. Adoption agency representatives are not allowed to join this group.



• China Expedited Referral Group (CERG) - This is a specialized China adoption support group for families that have requested expedited referral status due to Chinese ancestry with their dossiers. This status was made available by the CCAA as of 8/1/01. This group was formed so that families may wait together and share any news that they may hear about the process without feeling guilty of their special status. I do not believe that adoption agency representatives are allowed to join this group.

Other helpful groups are:

• Adoption Agency Research - International - Adoption Agency Research Group was formed to help prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) in their research and selection of an international adoption agency. Adoption agency representatives are not allowed to join this group.



• International Adoption Agency Feedback - This group was created to inform people researching international adoption agencies, attorneys and home study agencies. This group is open to ANYONE wanting this information including agencies, attorneys and home study agencies.

There may be other useful chat groups not listed here. You can do a search on Yahoo Groups or a general Internet search on Google to find more. In particular, some cities and states have groups so that people from the same area can chat and meet up.

+ Resource Library on International Adoptions in China

There are lots of general resources for international adoption, but the links below deal only (or mainly) with Chinese adoption. These links are based on fact, not rumors or hearsay. They deal more with consolidating and repeating the facts than speculation and rumor... (See "The Down and Dirty" category below for sites that may be considered more biased and speculative).

• Families with Children from China (F.C.C.) - The purpose of FCC is provide a network of support for families who've adopted in China and to provide information to prospective parents. It also provides pointers to other adoption and China-related resources available on the Web

+ Adoption in China - The Down and Dirty

After reading through the chat groups for a while, you may discover that international adoption can be risky and fraught with unscrupulous agencies, unforeseen health issues of adopted children and changes in government-adoption policies that can leave PAPs high and dry. Certain people have had very bad experiences in the adoption process and want to share their stories so that others don't have to go through the same ordeals that they did. Other people may not have had bad experiences themselves, but they have created sites that attempt give their readers the insider's edge. I call these types of sites the "down and dirty" sites and they can be very helpful in educating you and enlightening you to the perspective pitfalls associated with international adoption.

It's important to remember that when it comes to other people's opinions posted on the Internet, you might be reading the absolute truth, or the poster's version of the truth, or a downright lie. It's difficult to know for sure, so use your best judgement!

• China Adopt Talk - Otherwise known as "Rumor Queen". Rumor Queen's original Website was all about looking for the latest rumors and then analyzing them, trying to figure out what the CCAA will do next. Her new, updated site is dubbed "a gathering place for families just getting started, waiting for a referral, and home with their children. It still does deal with rumors in the China-adoption process. It also has a forum (like a chat group) where people can get together and discuss issues on Chinese adoption (and rumors). This is a very popular site in the China-adoptive world.
  



• CHEW - A blog by a woman who had a bad experience with The Great Wall of China adoption agency based in Texas which you can read about on her blog. Her blog also deals with ethics, the Hague convention and many shortcomings in the international adoption process. It also has a great list of resources and a list of other families dealing with fraud.

+ Blogs by Families who have Adopted from China

Many families who adopt from China keep an adoption blog of their experience. Reading through these blogs is an invaluable way to learn about adopting from China. Some of the blogs listed below are about couples who are waiting to adopt, some abou those who already have, and still some about those who have already adopted and are waiting to adopt child #2!

You can find many more adoption blogs by going to a Yahoo Group on China adoption and doing a search for "blog".

• Paynes in China



• Brynn's Blog



• Blackburn's Journey to China



• The Bramblett Bunch



• Loos Family Blog



• Meaghan Grace



• And Babies Make Four - A referral of twin baby girls surprise unsuspecting PAPs!



• Journey to Zoe