How to Adopt from China

If you're considering adoption, you probably have a lot of questions! This page is intended to give you some basic information and guidelines.

The adoption process can be broken into several stages:

  1. The decision to adopt a child.
  2. Selecting the country from which to adopt.
  3. Determining the gender, age range, and special circumstances you prefer for your adopted child. Are you willing to accept a toddler or a waiting child or a child with correctable special needs? Or, will you only accept a child designated as healthy?
  4. Finding the service providers that fit your needs - adoption agency, social worker, adoption facilitators, travel service providers.
  5. Preparation of paperwork, homestudies, document reviews, application to foreign country, review and assignment of child, travel for the child, legal adoption of the child.
  6. Preparation of home (baby's room), family/friends, workplace, childcare arrangements, pediatrician, etc. Your medical needs for travel.
  7. Preparation for new culture/language of foreign country. Reading about adoption and child rearing. Attending seminars and meetings. Learning more about support groups and participating in your local FCC group (Families with Children from China).
  8. Assignment and acceptance of a child.
  9. Travel planning, packing, and trip preparation.
  10. Travel to foreign country for adoption, legal adoption of child, processing of immigration papers, and return to US.
  11. Refinalization of adoption, setting into routine, medical examination, etc.

This process takes about a year from start to finish, sometimes a little longer. For the most part it's a matter of chasing papers and filling out forms but it is also about getting ready for a child emotionally and physically, just as if you were having a biological child. The process of "nesting" and prepping is not dissimilar and adoption should not be discounted as "not being the same". It is essential to put the same emotional energy into the process. It helps a family bond with the child they are going to adopt and helps the child enter a welcoming home.

About Adoptions from China

Adoptions from China tend to be smooth and predictable.

Children available in China for Adoption:

  1. Healthy girls ages 6 months thru 3 years. The majority of children available are in this category. Infants and toddlers readily available - see age requirements.
  2. Healthy boys ages 6 months thru 3 years. Upon request, a family may receive the referral of a boy.
  3. Correctable Special Needs girls and boys ages 6 months thru 14 years. This group would include children who have already had surgery, to those still needing surgeries: Cleft lip/palate, webbed toes, persistent infections, Hep-B positive, extra digits on hands/toes, club foot, hearing loss, eye disease/cataracts, heart murmur, etc. The majority of boys available are in this category.
  4. Non-correctable Special Needs girls and boys ages 6 months thru 14 years. This would include mild to severe afflictions: Effects of polio (not active polio), hearing loss, blind, albinism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, Down syndrome, heart defects, nanism (dwarfism), etc.
  5. Waiting children are defined as children ages 3 thru 14 who are healthy.
  6. Twins are sometimes available but the waiting list for twins is usually long at CCAA.
  7. Sibling groups are sometimes available - ask Cyndi to check with CCAA if you are interested in a sibling group.

Healthy Children

Compared to other international adoptions (see www.orphandoctor.com), China's children are pretty healthy. Maternal health is good, with fairly good nutrition and prenatal care. China does not have high risk for fetal alcohol syndrome. There are some provinces with high incidences of AIDS in the population, but children in those regions will be tested for HIV (Yunnan, Henan, Xinjiang).

Developmental delays are present in some children but usually they will rebound quickly upon return to the US. Some children will take longer than others in this unpredictable process.

The China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) processes all the applications for adoptions. About 8-9 months after the agency sends your file to China, China will send the agency several photos of a child, usually under 18 months old, unless you request older, and a medical report.

The medical report will be quite comprehensive including developmental information as well as medical test results. Vaccination records are available upon adoption but it is recommended that key vaccinations be repeated upon return to the US. The agency will immediately FedEx a medical record to you for your acceptance of the child. When you return your acceptance to the agency, it is sent to China, and you will travel in four to six weeks to bring home your new child!

Eligibility and requirements for adopting from China:

Age Requirements

The age limit for parents adopting an infant from China is age 50.

Marital Status

CCAA allows no more than three marriages for each parent, including the current one, for adopting parents.

Single Females and single males may no longer adopt from China.

Income Requirements

China recommends that adoptive families have an annual income of at least $10,000 per person, including the new child. A minimum of $80,000 in net assets is required at this time.

Two post-placement reports by a social worker visiting your home will be required in the first year after the adoption. The first is due when the child has been in your custody for four months, the second is due when the child has been with you for 10 months. Your agency will work with you on this.

Contact lynn@ocdf.org for the new CCAA regulations.

Steps to your child . . .

Step 1 Client contracts with agency and pays agency fee (see information from your network agency or contact cyndi@adoptionguides.org).

Step 2 Clients schedule home study appointment(s).

Homestudy:
Each adoptive family must have a homestudy done by a social worker licensed in your state and approved to do homestudies for international placements. This process will include several interviews, possibly some adoption related reading and/or seminars and a visit in your home. The fee for this varies by state, and is usually between $1000 and $2000. Your agency will assist you in finding a social worker in your state. The China homestudy has some special requirements, so we will be in touch with your social worker regarding these. Cyndi at Adoption Guides (cyndi@adoptionguides.org) can assist you with this process.

Step 3 Clients begin the Department of Homeland Security (formerly the INS) Process; $460 plus $50 for each parent for fingerprints.

Step 4 Clients begin compiling China dossier and submit it to agency.

Step 5 Dossier is state certified and Chinese Consulate authenticated.

Step 6 Dossier submitted to China coordinator for review

Step 7 Dossier is sent to China and submitted to CCAA. The wait for an assignment begins, about eight months.

Step 8 Child assignment/referral with documents translated into English and sent to US.

Step 9 Wait for permission to travel and travel arrangements with OCDF. Make tentative airline reservations (but not ticketed until confirmation).

Step 10 Trip to China with OCDF Adoption and OCDF China Tours assisting you. Beijing China Culture Orientation and Sightseeing for 2 days, travel to Provincial capital for adoption paperwork and processing, travel to Guangzhou to get medical exam for child and process at US Consulate.

Step 11 Return home and re-finalize if required in your state of residence. Each state has laws pertaining to how your adoption is viewed, either final or needing refinalization. China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) requires two post-placement reports done by a social worker.
For a quick listing of relevant state laws:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/Table_Adoption.htm

Step 12 Two post placement reports done by a social worker are sent to the agency within the first year and on to CCAA.

Resources

http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/china_adoption.php