Chinese children - toddlers to tweens - are waiting for forever adoptive families! Are you the right family for a waiting child?
There are approximately 2,000 children with special needs (correctable minor conditions to complex needs) currently waiting in China and are available for adoption.
Who are the children?
- Boys (70%) and Girls (30%)
- Toddlers (18 - 36 months)
- Preschoolers (3 -5 years)
- School-agers (6 - 13 years) - there are many school-aged boys with minor needs waiting for families
- Living in orphanages or foster homes
- Having minor corrected or correctable conditions - for example, cleft lip and palate, club foot, heart condition
- Having minor conditions - for example, developmental delays, motor weaknesses, limb deformities, visual impairments, hearing impairments, mild Cerebral Palsy
- Having moderate challenges - for example, Cerebral Palsy or Spina Bifida (needing a walker or wheelchair), deafness, blind, GI medical issues, neurological conditions
- Having challenges that will impact on adulthood independence - for example, Down Syndrome
- All orphaned and needing a mom, dad, brother and sister!
Is your family able to parent a child with special needs from China?
- Can you open your home and heart to a foreign-born child of a different culture and ethnic group?
- Can you give love, comfort, security, and stimulation for a child?
- Can you learn how to support the social/emotional needs of a child adopted after infancy?
- Can you learn how to support the medical and developmental needs for a child with less than a perfect start in life and for a child with special medical and/or developmental needs?
- Would you be comfortable that you may not have the medical or social history of your child?
- Can you be flexible and patient with the unpredictability in the international adoption process?
- Can you take the time needed to travel to your child’s country of origin for the adoption (1 Trip for 2-3 weeks for China)?
- Can you expand your family’s cultural identity and incorporate your child’s native heritage into your family life?
- Can you love a child that doesn’t not resemble you and help that child to develop a positive race identity?
If you answered Yes! to at least five of these questions, adopting a child with special needs from China is a wonderful way to provide a family for a child without parents and to expand and enrich your family.
What is the eligibility criteria for adoptive parents?
- Married at least 2 yrs
- 30 - 55 years old
- No physical or mental health history
- Body Mass Index < 40
- No drug or alcohol history
- No criminal history
- Fewer than 5 children under 18 years in the home
- Income at least $10,000 for each family member (including adopted child) and $80,000 in assets
- Single women may adopt but have additional requirements
What is the process and timeline for adopting a waiting child from China?
It takes approximately 9 to 12 months to complete an adoption of a child with special needs from China. Your steps would include:
Home Study Investigation - this must be conducted by a licensed/authorized and Hague Accredited adoption agency in the state where you reside. Family Connections, Inc. is an authorized New York State agency that is Hague Accredited by the Council on Accreditation. Family Connections, Inc. has been conducting home studies for inter-country adoption for over twenty years and has expertise in the adoption process and successfully transitioning international children with special needs into their adoptive families.
Selection of a Primary Provider / International Adoption Placement Agency - to adopt a foreign-born orphan you will need to work with an International Adoption Placement Agency (aka Primary Provider) that has the authority to work in China and that has achieved Hague Accreditation from the Council on Accreditation. Family Connections, Inc. works with any Primary Provider of your choosing. The Agency is currently collaborating with Children's House International (www.childrenshouseinternational.com), Children's Hope International (www.childrenshopeint.org), and Chinese Children Adoption International (www.ccaifamily.org). Please visit their websites to see all of the children waiting for families!
Citizenship & Immigration Services Pre-approval - all prospective adoptive parents must apply to Citizenship & Immigration Services (via forms I-600A or I-800A) to be pre-qualified to adopt a foreign born orphan.
Submission of Dossier to Foreign Country - every prospective adoptive family must submit a dossier - collection of documents that constitutes your application for adoption - to the foreign country.
The Referral - your International Adoption Placement Agency (aka Primary Provider) will present a child(ren) to your family for consideration. You may receive a picture(s) of the child, a medical report, and a developmental assessment of the child. It is strongly recommended that you have a pediatrician with expertise in international adoption medicine to review the child's referral before you make a decision regarding the child's adoption. Your International Adoption Placement Agency must give you two weeks in which to make your decision regarding the referred child.
The Decision - after your careful consideration of the child, you will decide whether or not to adopt the child. If you decide to commit to the child, you will proceed to adoption. If you decide that you are not the right family for this child, your international adoption placement agency, will present you with another child in need of a family when another child is available. All agencies involved in your inter-country adoption want you to be comfortable with the child you choose to adopt and prepared to parent the child.
The Adoption - you will travel to your China for two to three weeks (1 trip) to complete his/her adoption. One or both parents can travel.
Immigration of the Child to the United States - After you adopt your child in China you will immigrate the child into the United States.
The Transition Home and Required Supervision - you and your new child will settle into a new life. China requires that your adoption be supervised by an authorized/licensed and Hague Accredited adoption agency (Family Connections, Inc.) for five years after your arrival home to ensure that the child is safe and your family is adjusting well.
To learn more about adopting a child with special needs from China, please contact Renee at Family Connections, Inc. at 607-756-6574 or renee@adoptfamilyconnections.org. You can learn more about international adoption by downloading an Overview below.
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