China is OPEN to intercountry adoptions.

CCAI GENERAL OVERVIEW OF CHINESE ADOPTION

Baby boys are more valued in Chinese society than are baby girls because boys carry on the ancestral name, inheritance laws pass property on to sons, and sons are responsible for taking care of aged parents. Because of this, a high percentage of abandoned infants are girls. Babies are most often abandoned in public places (such as busy streets, railway stations, and in front of public buildings) so they will be found quickly. The babies are abandoned as infants – usually when they are only a few days old. In addition to little girls, handicapped babies and sick babies (both boys and girls) are also abandoned because most parents in China don’t have the money to provide for their special needs.

The Chinese system is a centralized one run almost entirely by the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA). Prospective Adoptive Parents are registered, referred and matched with a child by the CCAA. The only exception to this rule is for children with special needs where the CCAA maintains a separate and distinct process. Under the special needs system, approved agencies are able to petition the CCAA for permission to recruit parents for children listed on their special needs website as being in need of a home.

Over the last several years, there has been a decline in the number of children adopted from China. In addition, the average processing time has doubled from 18 to 36 months. There are several reasons for this decline. First, the CCAA maintains that number of orphaned children has dwindled to the point that there are more parents seeking to adopt than children in need of adoption. It is hard to tell whether or not this is true or in response to nationalistic concerns over the large number of children leaving China through adoption. Secondly, the Chinese have made several changes to their system which limits the types of parents who approved to adopt Chinese children. The Chinese government implemented these new rules in response to growing concern that an increasing number of Chinese children were being adopted by gay, single and/or older parents. The new rules (see above) are extremely limiting and can often prevent highly suitable families from adopting.

The length of time it takes to complete an adoption has also expanded over the last five to seven years. On average, it takes about three years to adopt a child from China.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ALERTS & NOTICES

August 15, 2011 - Notice: Concerns About Information of the Background of Children Adopted from China

April 12, 2011 - Notice: China Single Female Adoption Notice

September 29, 2009 - China Adoption Alert

CHINESE ADOPTION INFORMATION

All of the information listed below is from the following source:
China Web Page, U.S. Department of State, Office of Children's Issues

Number of Adoptions to the U.S.

SPECIAL RULES/PROCEDURES

In addition to the U.S. requirements for adoptive parents, the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) also requires the following of all adoptions:

Residency Requirements: In order to finalize an adoption, at least one adopting parent must travel to China to execute the required documents in person before the appropriate Chinese authorities. If only one member of an adopting married couple travels to China, that person must have in his/her possession a power of attorney from the other spouse, notarized and authenticated by the Chinese Embassy in Washington or one of the Chinese Consulates General elsewhere in the United States.

Age Requirements: Both parents must be between the ages of 30 and 50. Those couples who apply to adopt a special needs child must be between the ages of 30 and 55.

Marriage Requirements: Chinese law permits adoption by married couples, defined as one man and one woman. They must adopt the child jointly. In addition, they must have been married at least two years. If either person has previously divorced, the couple must have been married at least five years. No more than two divorces are allowed.

Income Requirements: At least one member of the couple must have stable employment. The total value of family assets must be at least $80,000. The family’s annual income equals at least $10,000 for each family member in the household (including the child to be adopted). Both prospective parents must be high school graduates or have vocational training equivalent to a high school education.

Health Requirements: Both partners must be physically and mentally fit, with none of the following conditions (AIDS; Mental disability; Infectious disease that is actively contagious; Blind in either eye; Hearing loss in both ears or loss of language function (those adopting children with hearing or language function loss are exempted from this requirement); Non-function or dysfunction of limbs or trunk caused by impairment, incomplete limbs, paralysis or deformation; Severe facial deformation; Severe diseases that require long-term treatment and that may affect life expectancy, including malignant tumors, lupus, nephrosis, epilepsy, etc; Major organ transplant within ten years; Schizophrenia; Severe mental disorders requiring medication for more than two years, including depression, mania, or anxiety neurosis; and Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more.)

Other Requirements: The family must have fewer than five children under the age of 18, and the youngest is at least one year old. Neither partner may have a significant criminal record, and both must have a history of honorable behavior and good moral character with no evidence of domestic violence, sexual abuse, abandonment or abuse of children; use of narcotics or any potentially addictive medication prescribed for mental illness; Alcohol abuse, unless the individual can show she/he has been sober for at least ten years.