Adoption From China

	CHILDREN AVAILABLE: Primarily healthy girls 12 months and older at time of referral. Older children and boys also available. No birthparent information available as children are foundlings. Approximately 50% of children will be in foster care prior to adoption. Medical and developmental information provided as well as photos. Children tested for hepatitis. Updated medical and developmental information available after child referral. Special needs children available.
	TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS: At least one parent must travel to China to finalize adoption for approximately two weeks with accommodation in hotels. Families will be assisted by bilingual coordinator throughout entire visit in country. Most families will travel in small groups. Cultural sightseeing also offered. Children already in the home may travel. Detailed daily itinerary provided prior to travel.
	LENGTH OF PROCESS: Preparation of adoption dossier takes about three months. Child referral from China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) approximately 24 months after submission of dossier. Travel to finalize adoption about four to six weeks after acceptance of child referral.
	ELIGIBILITYCRITERIA: Adoptive parents must be at least 30 years of age. Persons younger than 30 or older than 50 may not adopt, nor families who already have four or more children. At least one parent must be no older than 45 to adopt an infant.

Special Needs Adoption From China

	CHILDREN AVAILABLE: Girls and boys with a range of ages from infancy to school age. All children will have disabilities that may require initial or ongoing medical, developmental, and/or educational intervention. No birthparent information available, as children are abandoned. Comprehensive medical and developmental information provided as well as photos. Children tested for hepatitis and HIV.
	TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS: At least one parent must travel to China to finalize adoption. The trip is approximately two weeks in duration with accommodation in Western-style hotels. Families will be chaperoned and assisted comprehensively by bilingual Cradle staff throughout entire visit in country. All aspects of internal travel, from hotels to flights and ground transportation, will be arranged by Cradle staff on behalf of adoptive family. Families may travel in small groups. Cultural sightseeing also offered. Children already in the home may travel. Detailed daily itinerary provided prior to travel.
	LENGTH OF PROCESS: The processing of special needs cases is substantially expedited by the Chinese government. Once a family has accepted a special needs child and submitted an adoption dossier to Beijing, the adoptive parents can travel to China to bring the child home in about three to four months.
	ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Adoptive parents must be at least 30 years of age and not over 55. Families who already have four or more children are not eligible. Ideally, at least one parent should not be more than 45 years older than the adoptable child. In addition, prospective adoptive parents of special needs children should be able to demonstrate ability and resources to raise a child with disabilities.

From our China coordinator, Lifeng:

1996 Long Island, NY, USA:

I could almost hear my heart pounding as we got close to the door. “How she’s been doing? Is she all right? Is she still tiny? Is she still serious?”…

“Hi Lifeng!” A running hug from a beautiful little Chinese girl! “ Hi Alex!”- I could hardly say another word for a long time. The moment I saw Alex, there were no more wonderings - She’s happy and healthy as she can be! Alex is the first Chinese baby girl who was adopted by a Cradle of Hope family in 1994. I can never forget the moment that the nanny handed her to her new American father.

2005 Beijing, China:

These kids will have a chance to live happily and have many opportunities in the future, I know just like Alex, whenever I see the adopted children leaving China with their new foreign parents. I was deeply impressed by how such an adoption program can provide new loving homes to kids. I am so happy to be part of the Cradle family.

My name is Lifeng and my English name is Patrick. I was born and raised in Beijing. I have a bachelor’s degree in Science of History and have taken many courses in English as well. After graduating from college, I worked as a high school teacher for four years. After that I had a small advertising business with a couple of friends. I have worked in this field for six years. From 1999 to 2002 I went back to school to study in Science of International Politics and Chinese Modern History at Beijing University and to study Theory of International Relations in Tsinghua University. Then I worked as a senior consultant in a consulting firm for two years. Today, I want to do something for children.

I am happily married and living in Beijing. I helped Cradle of Hope families during the past years in many ways and enjoyed meeting many new families with their new children. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, watching sports and exercising.

***Click here to read what Cradle families have to say about working with Lifeng***

Adoption Process:

I. Who is in charge of foreign adoption in China?

The CCAA, China Center of Adoption Affairs, is the government agency within the Ministry of Civil Affairs that administers and approves all foreign adoptions in China. The CCAA has worked very hard to keep up with the many adoption applications it is receiving. All of the orphanages, known as welfare institutions, send their childrens’ files to CCAA through their local provincial Civil Affairs offices. You will be matched with a particular child by officials at the CCAA.

II. What happens once your dossier is in China?

These are the general steps of the adoption process after your dossier arrives in China:

Step 1
All applications go through the reception office. They verify that the CCAA's application fee has been paid and review the family's request for a child. The dossier is translated from English into Chinese. At the end of this step the registration form is completed and entered into the computer.

Step 2
(Document Review Department 1) This is where the family's qualifications and documents are checked for completeness and eligibility.

Step 3
(Document Review Department 2) This is where the family is matched with a particular child. The child's medical report and photos are sent directly to Cradle of Hope in Maryland. After translation of the medical and developmental information, Cradle of Hope sends the referral information to the family. If the referral is accepted, the family completes an acceptance form to be sent to the CCAA.

Step 4
After the CCAA receives the acceptance form, they return an invitation to travel letter, signed by a Vice Director of the CCAA and affixed with their official red chop, to Cradle of Hope. The CCAA alerts the local provincial government where the child resides of the approved match.

Step 5
A immigrant visa appointment is scheduled by Cradle of Hope with U.S. Consulate at Guangzhou, China for the child to be adopted.

Step 6
Travel to China! Families generally stay in China 12 to 14 days (including travel time and weekends) to get the adoption done. They travel to the provincial capital in the province where the child is residing. The child will be brought to the family before the paper work starts. The family then goes to the local provincial Civil Affairs office to register the adoption. They get the adoption decree at the end of this meeting. Next, the family goes to the local notary office to apply for more adoption documents, such as the child's birth certificate, abandonment decree, and adoption certificate. After the child's Chinese passport is issued, the family travels to Guangzhou where the American Consulate is located in order to obtain the child's visa to enter the United States. Once the Consulate issues the child's visa, the family is able to leave China and bring the child home.

III. What about the childrens’ health?

We have worked with about a dozen provinces and over 40 orphanages. Overall, we feel positive about the conditions of the orphanages and the care the children receive. Most orphanages and their staff work hard to take care of the children. However, an orphanage is not a home and therefore, some of these institutionalized children can have physical or developmental delays.

1. When you learn of your particular referral, you will receive a medical report affirming the child's health. The general physical examination conducted by a county level hospital covers such information as weight, height, head circumference, external examination, internal organ examination, X-ray, hepatitis-B, syphilis and HIV tests, blood work, nervous system examination, developmental status and more. Along with the written information, you will also receive one or more photos of the assigned child.

2. At your request, we can contact the child's orphanage director to get updated information before you sign an acceptance form.

3. If you are not satisfied with the assigned child due to reasonable medical concerns, the CCAA will reassign a different child to you.

4. If you meet the child in China and are not satisfied with his/her health or you think the child's condition is beyond your ability to handle, the CCAA will reassign a child to you within a few days.

IV. Additional Resources

For detailed information on adoption from China, an excellent source is the Families with Children from China website at www.fwcc.org. It offers background for prospective parents, guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions, and travel and health information. It also provides updated information on new rules or legislation in both China and the U.S. that affect adoption. FCC also has many local support groups.