China Waiting Child Adoption FAQs
The Chinese government has established two different procedures for international adoption. We call the first the China Traditional program. This is for the adoption of children with no known medical conditions and can take up to 4 years. That is described in detail elsewhere. The second is the China Waiting Child program. That is described in detail here.
What is a "Waiting Child?"
A child is generally considered to be “waiting” or “hard to place” if they are older (6 years of age and older in the case of China), or if they have at least minor to moderate medical, physical, genetic, psychological, emotional, or developmental challenges or disabilities. This is often referred to as “special needs”.
These kids are called waiting children for the obvious reason. Most families prefer to adopt very young children with no known medical conditions, so children with challenges are less likely to be adopted and more likely to be “waiting” in an orphanage or foster care for adoptive parents.
What are minor, moderate and major special needs?
This can cover a wide range of conditions. Many of them will be surgically correctable, or may be something that just takes a little extra understanding and some additional time. A minor special need could be a heart murmur that the child is likely to outgrow without the need for surgery, or a port wine birthmark on a part of the body normally covered by clothing. Examples of surgically correctable conditions would be things like a club foot, cleft lip and palate, or an operable heart defect – like a malfunctioning valve that must be corrected.
Some minor to moderate special needs are not correctable. Examples would be things like blindness in one eye, a disfiguring facial scar, a malformed and minimally useable hand, significant hearing loss, a malformed hip significantly impacting gait, etc.
Moderate to major special needs would include conditions such as a missing limb, Downs Syndrome, albinism, major bilateral cleft lip and palate, or Hepatitis B. A more detailed discussion is available in our Special Needs Checklist.
Do we qualify to adopt a waiting child?
The China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) establishes the requirements for adoptive families, and reviews all requests for adoption. All of the rules that apply to families adopting through the China Traditional program (adoptions of children without special needs) also apply to families adopting a Waiting Child. At the same time the CCAA has always been very flexible in matching waiting children and families, and granting waivers for some requirements. So if you don’t quite meet one of the CCAA’s adoption qualifications, please let us know. We can request that an exception be made for your family.
In general, only married couples may adopt. At the time your application to adopt is submitted you must have been married for 2 years. If either of you has had a divorce, then it is 5 years. You should have no more than 3 divorces between the two of you. Your family income should be at least $30,000 plus $10,000 for every child already in the home. You should have no more than 5 children already in your home. Both parents should be under 55 years of age, and not be obese (have a BMI under 41). Both parents should have a high school or better level of education, and only very minor criminal records. Families should not have serious medical conditions such as cancer or have had a recent organ transplant. As you can see there are a lot of rules and conditions. Please call and talk to us if you have any concerns about qualifying for the adoption of a Waiting Child.
While China can be more flexible with parental qualifications for families adopting a Waiting Child, families should be aware that adopting a waiting child brings additional medical, emotional, financial, and physical challenges to your family. These are kids that need extra time, understanding, and help. Choosing to adopt a Waiting Child just because it is faster, easier, or less expensive may not the best choice for every family.
May I adopt a waiting child if I am single?
Unfortunately, no. In May of 2007 China stopped accepting applications for adoptions by single parents.
Is if faster to adopt a waiting child?
In most cases, yes. The CCAA provides expedited processing and review of documents for families wishing to adopt a waiting child. Your waiting time can be cut by more than 50%. Please see the detailed description of the process below for more details.
Is it less expensive to adopt a waiting child?
In some cases, yes. Some orphanages have reduced their required donation (normally $5,000) for more seriously impacted children. It is the philosophy of our agency to ask each family to pay for the adoption services they receive, so our basic fee structure is the same for all adoptions. You are less likely to be able to travel with other families, which may add to your travel costs.
We have also seen that contributions to a waiting child’s fund in our Directed Donation Program can be more generous when a waiting child is being adopted. Families who are able to care for a child but find the initial expenses of an adoption difficult to afford should take a look at this, among our other financial assistance options. You may request a packet of information from us about financial assistance.
Do we get to choose the waiting child we adopt?
Yes, you select the child you want to adopt. In some cases you may choose to have Americans Adopting Orphans initially select a child for you. You will then be able to approve the choice before making a formal request to the CCAA for the specific child chosen by Americans Adopting Orphans.
May we look at photos and medical information for waiting children?
Your family may review information about children from the China who are available to be adopted by any family. Please go to http://www.4orphans.com to create an account and see available situations. Please note, these children will tend to be children with more serious medical conditions. Children with more minor or correctable conditions from our Agency Specific list will be shown first to clients of our agency.
It can take many months for a family to prepare and gather the documents required to complete an adoption. Americans Adopting Orphans does not allow families to reserve specific children for adoption until they have become clients of our agency, and have a completed home study approving them to adopt a Waiting Child.
In order to protect the privacy of the children, and to maintain the highest adoption practices, Americans Adopting Orphans does not make the true names or other identifying information about waiting children available to the general public. Identifying information is provided when your family has reserved a child.
Note – We recommend that families choose the agency they wish to use for their adoption before looking at available children. All agencies are not the same, and families can fall in love with a child that can only be adopted through an agency that is a bad fit for that family.
Understanding Your Choices
How does the CCAA Waiting Child Program work?
As with all international adoptions you begin by completing your home study pre-placement report and submitting the report to US Immigration. It normally takes several months for Immigration to review your documents and approve your family. After receiving this approval you prepare an application letter, as well as other documents required by the foreign government, into a bundle of paperwork called a dossier. The dossier is described in greater detail elsewhere. Your dossier may include a request for a specific child, but does not have to.
The CCAA has an online database of hundreds of waiting children who are available to be adopted. This database is not directly available to the public; it is only available to approved adoption agencies. Most of these children are in a general or “shared” database and may be adopted by families of any agency approved to place Waiting Children. Americans Adopting Orphans is one of those agencies. Most of the children on this shared list have been available for many months, and tend to have more significant medical conditions, or are healthy but over 6 years old. Any agency may reserve a child from the shared list for one of its families. Once a child is reserved, that child’s information is removed from the database, so two different agencies cannot reserve the same child. When an agency reserves a child, it must make that reservation for a specific family. If the family subsequently refuses that child, then the agency cannot reserve that child for some other family.
About once a month the CCAA adds additional children to the shared list. When the children are added to the list, agencies quickly review the information about the newly available children. Most adoptive families want to adopt very young girls with minor or correctable medical conditions, so these children are reserved very quickly.
In addition to the shared list, each authorized agency is assigned a smaller “private” or “Agency Specific” list of waiting children. These children may only be adopted by families who are clients of that agency. Agency Specific waiting children may have relatively minor medical conditions compared to the typical child in the “Shared List” database.
How does Americans Adopting Orphans make these children available to my family?
Once you have been accepted as a client family and your Home Study Pre-Placement Report is complete, you will be able to request access to our private website where we have placed information about Waiting Children. Your family will have three options, and may choose to use one, two, or all three of them.
Shared List Children
For families who want their adoption process to move quickly, and who are open to considering children with more significant medical conditions, you may simply select an available child from the shared list, and submit an application to China for that child. Your application will receive expedited processing, and your adoption can be complete in less than 6 months from the time you are approved for adoption by US Immigration.
Agency Selected Children
This can be your fastest path to an adoption from China of a child with relatively minor and/or correctable special needs. Our staff will work with your family to establish a clear understanding of your preferences and limits. When China releases a new group of waiting children we will immediately search through the just-released children to find the perfect match for your family. If your family chooses to trust us to select a child for you, then you are likely to be matched with a child within two or three months of completing your home study pre-placement report.
Agency Specific Children
Several times a year the CCAA provides our agency with a limited number of waiting children who may only be adopted by clients of our agency. You may choose to be included on a list of families who reviews information about these children. Children are presented to our families in the order families are added to the list. Families who have been waiting the longest will typically see the youngest children with less severe special needs. This option works very well for families who prefer to adopt a child through the Traditional Program (non-special needs children), but who would consider some special needs to reduce the wait time. Most families will begin seeing Agency Specific Children within a year of joining the waiting list.
How will it work if we want to use all three options?
It is very simple. First you spend time with your social worker and our staff completing both your home study pre-placement report and our Special Needs Checklist. If you are approved by your social worker to adopt a child with special needs you will be given access to our private web site where we provide information about selected children from the shared list. If you have an interest in adopting a child with a specific medical condition we will look on the shared list to find children with that profile. If you find a Shared List Child that you want to adopt, let us know and we will reserve that child for you.
If you want our agency to select a child for your family we will spend extra time with your family establishing a clear understanding of the kind of child you want to adopt. If we see a child who matches your child profile, we will reserve that child in your name. Once we have reserved a child you have 24 hours to review information about the child, and write a brief plan about how you will be able to provide the care that the child needs. We will help you with that process. You will then have 2 weeks to review the medical information about the child with your family’s medical provider before making a final commitment to the child.
Finally, if you want to be on the waiting list for an Agency Specific Child you simply request to be placed on our Agency Specific Child waiting list. Every time we receive a new group of children for the clients of our agency, we will move down our list showing all of the available children to each family in turn. If you are presented with information about a child you would like to adopt, we reserve that child for you. Almost all families will get to see at least one or two children each time we receive a list. Usually the younger children with the most minor medical conditions are selected first.
Do we have to choose between the Waiting Child Program and the Traditional Program, or may we sign up for both?
As a part of our philosophy of “Providing Choice and Freedom for Your Adoption” we support families entering both programs at the same time. Your family may submit a dossier for the China Traditional Program and begin the wait to adopt a child without a medical condition. At the same time you may complete a Special Needs Checklist and begin looking at information about Waiting Children. If you find a Waiting Child who is right for your family, great! If you don’t make that connection, you know that you are still in line to adopt a child without special needs.
You will not be able to adopt two children from China at the same time. You only submit one dossier to China. If you start with a Traditional Program dossier, it will be transferred to the Waiting Child Program when you select a Waiting Child.
Do we wait to submit our dossier until we have selected a Waiting Child?
That is a choice you get to make. If you submit your dossier with a request for a specific child, your dossier will receive expedited processing from the CCAA. Your documents will be translated and the approval of your request to adopt the child is normally completed in less than 3 months. You are typically in China completing your adoption less than 3 months after that.
We recommend this choice for families adopting a Shared List Child. There are so many children available that families open to more significant special needs will have a relatively fast adoption process.
If you send a dossier to China without requesting a specific waiting child, your dossier will be processed by the CCAA as a Traditional Program application. This means it may not be translated and reviewed for several months. If you find a Waiting Child who is right for your family within a few months of dossier submission, it could result in a delay of a month or two. Your dossier needs to be located, removed from the stack of dossiers in the Traditional Program line, processed into the Waiting Child Line, and sent for expedited translation. China is extremely careful with dossiers, and monitors each application through the process both physically and electronically.
Selecting a Waiting Child
How do we decide which child we want to adopt?
Through your home study process you will be well prepared to make this choice. As a part of a Waiting Child adoption from China you will receive 10 hours of training in the adoption process, you will spend several hours with a Social Worker who will help prepare you and answer your questions, and you will go through our Special Needs Checklist to gain an understanding of the different challenges children can face. It will also help you define where your interests, skills, and capabilities are the strongest.
We also recommend that families do plenty of research about adopting a Waiting Child. One of the best resources we have found for this kind of research is the Handbook of International Adoption Medicine by Laurie C. Miller. It may be purchased from the Barnes & Noble website at: http://tinyurl.com/d7kma
To further aid you in your research about special needs conditions you may wish to consider a Special Needs manual on CD that is available for purchase. It describes 60 of the most common special needs on China’s Waiting Child lists. It was written by doctors and nurses here in the US and then reviewed by doctors in China. Go to:
http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/lwbshop/Detail?no=25 for details.
With this preparation and our guidance you will select whether you wish to consider children on the Shared List, Agency Specific List, or to have our Agency Select a child for your family. When you review information about specific children you will be able to compare their medical conditions with your Special Needs Checklist to help you determine which child is right for you.
What information do we receive about the children?
Typically, a child’s information will have several photos of the child, usually including detailed photos of any visible external physical disability. There will be the results of a routine medical exam, including laboratory test results, and detailed information about the child’s special need. If the child is more than a year old, there is usually updated medical information for each year or so in care. A care history and developmental evaluation and immunization record are usually provided as well.
Is additional medical information available about the child?
In most cases. The CCAA may not provide additional medical testing unless specifically requested by a physician in the US, or if the routinely provided information is more than a year old. We work with families on a case by case basis. Medical conditions that are more severe or likely to change over time are given higher priority by the CCAA. When permitted by the CCAA we will also contact the orphanage directly for further information. Current growth measurements and a general discussion of the child’s wellness and progress is often provided. When a family is in China completing their adoption they may also request a full medical examination as part of our optional services.
How long do we have to decide if we want to adopt a specific child?
In some cases you may need to make a preliminary choice quickly. Some children are available to be reserved by any family working with an authorized agency, and it is possible that another family could choose to reserve a child that you are considering. Once you have made an initial reservation of a child, China sends a formal referral of that child to your family through our agency. When you receive this formal referral you have 2 weeks to consider whether you wish to accept this formal referral. No family will ever be required to adopt a child they are not ready to adopt.
What if we don't see a child we want to adopt?
Every few weeks the CCAA adds children to the Shared List of available children. Every few months Americans Adopting Orphans will receive information about a new group of Agency Specific waiting children from the CCAA. We will inform families who are in our pool of waiting families about their arrival. If your family is using our Agency Selected option, you will be notified immediately after we have placed a hold on a child for your family. Families using our Agency Specific List program will be able to see information about the children and make initial requests to reserve a child in order, based on their entrance into the Waiting Child program. Your family is entered in the Waiting Child program when you have completed the process of developing a special needs profile. If you do not see a child the first time your turn comes around to view the information on children, you may have better luck the next time it’s your turn. We keep going through the pool of waiting families in order until we get to the bottom of the list and then we start over at the top of the list. Families may choose to use the Shared List, Agency Selected, and Agency Specific programs simultaneously.
How do we tell China that we have selected a child?
When you have selected a Waiting Child, you tell us. Americans Adopting Orphans will notify the CCAA about your selection. If you are considering a child on the Shared List, this should be done quickly so that the child can no longer be reserved by some other family working with a different agency. You have some additional time if you are considering a child from the Agency Specific list or an Agency Selected child. The CCAA is notified on a part of their website that is for agencies only.
Once we have reserved a child for you we have 48 hours to provide the CCAA with additional information. This includes a brief description of the medical plan you have for the child. Our agency will help you write the plan. We also upload pictures of you and your family and send them to the CCAA.
Your family will also write a Letter of Intent, with our assistance. It is a formal written request from your family to the Chinese government.
What if we see ac hild that we want to adopt from a different agency?
The CCAA may allow children listed with one agency to be placed by a different agency. If you become sufficiently attached to a child you may choose to change agencies to adopt that child. Americans Adopting Orphans fees are not refundable, but we will work with your new agency, and you may use your home study if that is allowed by your new agency. There is a $250 fee for coordinating with another agency, plus an additional $500 program fee, for a total of $750.
If a child’s dossier has been with an agency for 3 months without a family stepping forward to request that child, the CCAA will remove the child from that agency and place the child with a different agency. It is possible that our agency could request that child on your behalf and you would be able to adopt that child using our services. We work with families in this circumstance on a case by case basis.
Traveling to China
What happens after we have submitted our Letter of Intent?
Americans Adopting Orphans will notify the CCAA that the child has been selected by your family and will send the CCAA your Letter of Intent. The CCAA will review your request and in most cases grant pre-approval for you to adopt that child. That child will then wait for you. When your dossier is submitted to the CCAA it will receive greatly accelerated review and processing, normally taking a few months. If your dossier has not yet been sent, you will be given time to prepare the dossier and once submitted it will receive expedited processing. After the CCAA has reviewed your documentation and approved the adoption, Americans Adopting Orphans will be sent a formal referral acceptance form for you to sign. You will have 2 weeks to consider that referral, but can choose to accept your referral more quickly.
A few weeks after that, we will receive a Travel Approval document for your family. With this document we can make firm consulate appointments and establish travel dates for your adoption journey. It is common that families adopting waiting children are not able to travel with other families, so single family supplement fees may apply.
What if our dossier is already in China when we find our waiting child?
If your dossier is already in China and you decide you want to adopt a specific waiting child you would follow the procedure outlined above. Once you write your Letter of Intent for a specific child, Americans Adopting Orphans will submit your letter to the CCAA. They will remove your file from normal processing and expedite the translation and review of your dossier. This process usually takes a month or so longer than a request made with the submission of your dossier, if your dossier has been recently submitted.
What happens on the trip to China?
Information about the adoption trip in China is available in our Frequently Asked Questions for the China Traditional Program. If you do not have that document, please contact Americans Adopting Orphans. We will email or surface mail one to you right away.
Is our trip to China any different from the Traditional Program?
Generally the trip to China is the same for all families. There is, however, a greater likelihood that your family would not be able to travel with other families as part of a group. In most cases agencies send applications to China in groups. The CCAA keeps those groups together when making assignments. Families whose dossiers were sent to China at the same time will be matched with children from a single locality. Every month each agency will have their group of families traveling to a different part of China. It is unlikely that you would choose a waiting child from the same city that happens to be the destination for the next group of normally processed families. Your travel expenses may be higher if you are unable to share travel and guide services with a larger group, as detailed in our Description of Services.
Post Adoption Services for Waiting Children
What do we do when we come back to the U.S. with our child?
In most ways your post adoption process will be like that of any other adoptive family. If only one parent traveled to China to complete the adoption then your family will be required by the US government to readopt your child within 18 months. If both parents traveled then readoption is not required but is still strongly recommended.
Your social worker will visit you after you have been home for about a month. This check in is a great opportunity to talk about resources available in your area for both you and your child. China requires reports from a social worker on how your family is doing at six and twelve months.
Americans Adopting Orphans provides assistance for integrating your child into the United States upon your return. You will receive information about readopting your child, obtaining appropriate medical testing and support, issuance of social security numbers and a passport, obtaining proof of citizenship, and receiving your income tax credit.
Will the government help pay for the care of my child?
In most cases, no. While some assistance may be available to families adopting children with special needs out of a state’s foster care system, there is generally no government support for children adopted internationally. As this varies from state to state you should discuss this question with your social worker.
Children adopted internationally are generally cared for as children born to a family. This means that in most cases your child will be able to use the same medical care and insurance that you have from your employer or self-paid plan. You should speak with your insurance plan manager before committing to a special needs adoption.
There are also organizations that will help children with specific medical conditions. For example, Shriner’s hospitals (located all over the country) are generally available to provide orthopedic surgery, cleft lip and palate repairs, and care for burns, spinal cord injuries, etc., all at no charge to the adoptive family without regard to financial need.
The Federal Adoption Tax Credit is available to eligible families for the tax year that their adoption is complete. Consult your tax preparer for details and advice.
What post adoption services are offered by Americans Adopting Orphans?
Once you have adopted a child through our agency we want you to stay a part of our family. From fun things like camping trips and parties to medical and emotional consultation and referral services, we will be here for you. Your family will become a part of a community connected by our exclusive “families only” Yahoo e-group. Our staff includes social workers, nurses, parents of kids with special needs, and even shoulders to cry on. If we can’t help directly we can probably get you pointed in the right direction.
Other Questions
Can we really do this?
Yes you can! Thousands of families all over the country and overseas have successfully completed adoptions from all over the world. Many families (including Dave and Cindy Ptasnik, the founders of Americans Adopting Orphans) have adopted special needs. With assistance from Americans Adopting Orphans your adoption can be a deeply enriching, rewarding, and empowering experience.
Are we ready to adopt a waiting child?
If you are ready to adopt any child then you are ready to start. We will help you think about the rewards, challenges, and implications of adopting a waiting child. Your social worker is there to help you educate yourself, and to guide you through the decision making process. We can tell you from personal experience that most parents have a tremendous well of strength and love for their children. You will stretch in ways you didn’t think possible. Use the adoption process to learn all that you can. When your brain is happy your heart will tell you what to do.
Is financial aid available for Waiting Child adoptions?
Yes, we have four programs that help our client families finance their adoptions through our agency. These programs are available to all of our families, regardless of whether they are adopting a waiting child. They are discussed in our general list of Frequently Asked Questions and on our web site.
We hope you choose to adopt a waiting child. These are children in tremendous need of families. Let us know if we can help your family. We look forward to meeting and working with you!
Is China a Hague Country?
Yes, China has signed and fully implemented the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption of Children. More information about this Hague treaty can at: http://adoption.state.gov It is also discussed in our general FAQ. But in brief, by signing this treaty China and the Unites States agree that the highest ethical standards and best adoption practices will be followed. Families must work with an adoption agency accredited to complete Hague adoptions, like Americans Adopting Orphans.
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