Why China???
Many people ask, "Why China?" For us, we just knew we wanted to adopt from China, and that our daughter was waiting for us. Before deciding on China, we looked through many other ways to adopt. Our first, of course, was domestic. But it can be very expensive and having four biological children already, there was a small chance we would get a child. We were also afraid that the birth mother might change her mind, and didn't want to go through the heartache of giving up a child. With International Adoption, there is a small chance the birth mother will want her baby back, as most children are orphans. We also thought it would be neat to have a child from another country.
After deciding on international adoption, we looked at different programs. Russia was always a favorite because we could get a healthy blue eyed/blonde haired child there. But it was expensive, and required two trips to Russia, which with a busy family would be too hard. Many babies were also being diagnosed with AIDS & FAS, and we really wanted a healthy baby. We also looked into Chile. Claudio was born there and his brother and wife had adopted two children down there. But it just didn't feel right. Guatemala was another choice, but it just didn't click. South Korea was my next choice. But, we were too old and had to many children to adopt, and if we did, we would have to adopt a special needs child. It just didn't seem right. Finally though, our eyes were turned to China. We had always liked the China program and knew then, after researching that our daughter was there! We found our adoption agency in the back of WORLD magazine. They are Living Hope Adoption Agency out of Telford, PA and they only did China adoptions and were a small agency so we liked that. In June 2002, our decision was made and we decided to do a bit more research and just wait and see. In late January of 2003, we signed the "application" and started the paperchase!
As Christians, we are called to care for orphans and widows in their time of need, as James 1:27 says. Many people do not realize the situation in China and why so many little girls are orphaned. In the 1970's, China decided to limit its humongous population by stipulating the "one child rule." This rule would allow Chinese couples to only have one child. China has a beautiful and rich culture, but with that comes tradition. It is tradition for the son's of the family to take care of their parents in their old age. They also pass the family name down and work hard (especially those in the country side) with the farm work. While girls on the other hand, are to take care of their husband's parents when they are married. If a couple has a daughter who gets married, there will be no one to care for them in their old age. If a little girl is born, the parents must make a gutwrenching decision. They can keep her, or abandon her and hope to try again for a boy. A lot of couples decide to abandon their girl, and leave her in a place where she will be found quickly. It's often the case that the mother is hiding somewhere nearby waiting for someone to find her child. Of course, this is not always the case, but we like to think of it this way. Because of this one child policy, families want to have a son, and if a girl is born she is abandoned. This has led to an enormous number of orphaned girls in China. To control the growing numbers of orphans, the Chinese government set up a system called the China Center for Adoption Affairs (or CCAA) to place these children in adoptive families. Every year thousands of children are adopted from China by families in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. Seeing what was going on China, we knew that we had been called to adopt one of these orphans and started the process.
There are a couple of rules for China though, and luckily we fit the criteria. Couples and singles are allowed to adopt from China. You must be 30 years old and under 55 years old. (But if you are over 45, you may be matched with a slightly older child.. it depends.) Couples may have no more than four children in the home. You must make a minimum of $30,000 a year and your income must be $10,000 per person in your family, including the child you wish to adopt. (So for us, a family of six, that would be $70,000 a year.) Both girls and boys are available for adoption from China. Though 97% of the adoptions are for girls, there are older healthy boys available too. Twins are available on a rare occasion. The children are very healthy and live in orphanages or foster care. China does have a special needs program where there are many boys and girls (as well as older children) available that have mild to severe special needs. Travel is required however one spouse may travel. Average stay is 10-14 days (includes optional sightseeing in Beijing, travel to province where child is, and then travel to Guangzhou for American Consulate.) We were glad to fit the criteria.
Average adoption costs (depending on agency) are $14,000-$21,000, which includes paperwork, agency fee, traveling to China, hotels, meals and a mandatory $3000 donation to orphanage.
There are three steps to adoption. The first step of the adoption process is to decide on an agency and then start the "paperchase", where you collect all of the paperwork needed for China. This is called a dossier. The dossier takes about 3-4 months to complete. It seems like SO much paperwork, but once you have everything, it really isn't. This is what is needed in your dossier:
* 2 birth certificates for each adoptive parent
(one will go in the dossier, the other to China with you)* Employment letters for both adoptive parents
*Financial statement
*Home Study
(social worker visits with you four times to make sure you are capable of adopting a child.)* 3 character reference forms
* Marriage License(s)
(or divorce decree if divorced. Single must fill out an Affidativ.)
* Health Examination form
* Certificate of Criminal or Non-Criminal Record
* Adoption Application Letter
* Six photos reflecting family life
* I-171H
(notice of "favorable determination response from the INS.")* Copy of passport(s)
* Two passport photos of each applicant
(get four, as you will need to take two more to China with you.)(NOTE- Depending on the agency you use, you may need more or less paperwork.. this is just what was needed in our dossier, and in most dossiers.)
Before you start the paperwork, (your agency will assist you with this) you will fill out an I-600A form (goes to INS asking for your petion to adopt a child from China.) and have your fingerprints taken. That's the first step, but while you wait, you start to get the other required paperwork. It's really not a lot of paperwork, but once you have it all, most of it will have to be notarized, and have a county seal, a state seal and some even a U.S. Department of State seal. Then after that it has to go to the Chinese Consulate (our agency Living Hope did this for us.) So you do spend a lot of money on postage! After you complete your dossier and have it all ready you send it to your agency and breathe a HUGE sigh of relief!
The second step is awaiting your referral. The referral is when China has matched you with a child. You do not get to pick a child, China has a special place called the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) all set up to match you with a child. The wait is hard, but you fill it with getting a room for your child done, buying clothes & preparing yourself! Most agencies will also give you a DTC (dossier to China) and a LID (log-in date.) The DTC date is when your agency sent your dossier to China and the LID date is when your dossier was logged into the CCAA. Our DTC date was 11/05/03 and our LID date was 11/17/03. The waiting is probably the HARDEST part!! Referrals are currently running at 6-7 months. While you wait, most people will receive a "brown envelope" which is from the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China and includes a whole bunch of papers to take with you to China. Soon, though the waiting ends and step three begins!!
The third step is you receive your REFERRAL!! It is the happiest day of your life. Your agency will contact you with some information about your child including:
*Chinese Name
*Date of Birth
*City and Province where they live
*Orphanage name
* And basic health information
Some agencies will e-mail you a picture of your child, but most will make you wait until the next day when FedEx or UPS (the "storks") bring you a long awaited package with 1-3 pictures (or more) of your child and a whole medical and information list about them. You have 24-48 hours to either keep or decline your referral. Of course you want to keep your referral as this is the baby that was chosen for you! After you receive your referral, travel plans are made. You travel 4-8 weeks later. Then you come home with your new child!! China does require that a social worker do two follow-up visits with you to see how your child is progressing. You will also want to take your child to the doctor to check their health and their vaccinations may have to be re-done again as in China, most med's are watered down. The bonding experience then begins and some children will have slight speech delays because English is not their first language. It is amazing to see how far these children progress, they are all so brave!
Well, that's why we chose China to adopt our daughter Emma and bring her hope and a loving family. Every year thousands more of these Chinese orphans are abandoned. These children need someone to bring them hope. Maybe you have considered adopting a child, or think that someone in your family is missing? If so, I encourage you to look into adopting a child from China, or any country. Just bringing one hope will really make a difference. We can't save all of the children in China, but we can help provide hope to some and that is what we are called to do. Won't you consider bringing hope to a Chinese orphan?
Please visit this website to see why we and thousands of other families have adopted from China... we are working one starfish at a time!
(Grab your kleenex!)
Please, feel free to e-mail us with
any questions you have on Chinese Adoption.
"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God is this, to care for orphans and widows in their time of need.." James 1:27
Just saving ONE makes a HUGE difference....
