China Waiting Child

Read the most recent news about our China Waiting Child adoption program (click here to read).

Watch the China Waiting Child program introduction by clicking here. This is a great overview of the program presented by the program coordinator and facilitator.

CAS combined with its networking agency, Chrysalis House, brings you years of adoption expertise that work together in providing each forever family a wonderful adoption experience.

Quick Reference

Children:

Age: 10 months-15 years

Parents Requirements:

Age: 30-55 years old
Marriage: Married 3 or more years

Estimated Process Timeline:

From homestudy approval to referral: 1-6 months
From referral to travel: 3-7 months
Travel: 1 trip, 12-14 days

Children Available:

Waiting children in China have varying special needs ranging from minor correctable needs, such as cleft lip/palate to non-correctable needs, such as Down syndrome or albinism. There may be some children who are older and do not have any special needs. There are also children who in the past had a correctable special need and surgery/treatment has already been performed.

China has recently ended the use of the Waiting Child two list system: agency individual list and the shared list. Effective March 1, 2010, there is only the standard list for all agencies with a Waiting Child program to utilize. Families who initially apply to the Waiting Child program will have the ability to be matched with any of the hundreds of waiting children. For a family currently in a NSN program with another agency, it is still possible to transfer to the Waiting Child program. Please contact the Waiting Child Program Coordinator for details on this process.

Eligible Applicants:

The Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has modified their eligibility requirements for adoptive families interested in the Waiting Child program. The changes will apply to all new applicants. Due to the changes, CAS will no longer accept applications from single parents.

Married Couples 30-55 years of age at the time the child is placed. Couples must be under the age of 55 at time of dossier submission.
Parents with prior marriages must have been married to their current spouse for at least 5 years.
First time married couples must have been married at least 3 years.
Parents must have a Body Mass Index under 40.
A family member must have stable employment.
Families must demonstrate a minimum gross income of $10,000 per household member.
Certain past or current medical conditions and/or criminal records may exclude applicants. Please contact Carol Galvin for additional information and if this applies to you.
Parents cannot belong to a religion that forbids medical care such as blood transfusions and immunizations

Program & Process:

Carolina Adoption Services is partners with Chrysalis House to provide an outstanding China Waiting Child program. China’s Waiting Child program is significantly different from their standard adoption process. A family hoping to adopt a Waiting Child from China must have a completed home study. Upon the approval of the homestudy the family will complete a form in which they identify what specific special needs they are open to considering. The facilitator then reviews the family’s requests and then with the family seeks a match from either of the secured lists.

The matching process may take only a few days or a few months depending on the children waiting for their forever families and the parent’s requests. Once an appropriate match for a child has been made the family will be notified and will have 48 hours to submit the necessary paperwork. Until this paperwork is submitted and the facilitator “locks” the file there is no guarantee that child will not be referred to another agency or family. This information will then be sent to CCAA to be reviewed, approved, and issue a pre-approval letter.

Families who do not already have a completed dossier must then work to complete their dossier as soon as possible, within three months (at the most). CCAA will then review the family’s file which may take about three to four months. Next the dossier is approved and CCAA will send the final acceptance confirmation letter. The family will sign this letter and submit their appropriate CIS application to CIS. The family will travel within about 2-3 months for a 12-14 day trip.

The Country:

China has a history of over 5000 years and is a country of great contrasts, with vast rural regions and congested cities. The Chinese are credited with inventing calligraphy, ceramics, football, golf, noodles, ice-cream, opera, and philosophy. In the past two centuries China has undergone huge social and economic transformations.