Interested in Adopting?: May 2007

Monday, May 21, 2007

India Adoption

Country Profile: India is a country of great history. It is the second most populous country in the world, immediately following China. It borders China, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the Indian Ocean. It is also the largest democracy in the world.

Children Available: Babies to children age 12 are available. The adoption of two unrelated children at once is not allowed. The children are cared for in orphanges. Children are left as a result of poverty, neglect, death in the family, or single motherhood which is greatly looked down upon in India.

Requirements: Couples are allowed to adopt. Single women are permitted case-by-case, if they are between the ages of 30-45. Couples must be at least 30 years of age to adopt from India and no older than 55, however there is a requirement of a combined age difference of the parents and the child which is 90. Also, there must be no more than 45 years of an age difference between older parent and child. Couples must be married for 5 years, and must have no more than a total of 2 divorces. The number of children already in the family could be a factor for India as prioity is given to childless couples. Also, couples with just one child will be given priority. Exceptions to this are non-gender specific (open to boy or girl) and special needs adoption.

Time line: After submitting your dossier to India, the wait for referral can be anywhere between a few to 12 months. The wait is significantly shorter for special needs/older child adoptions, as well as adoptions in which at least one parent is of Indian heritage. The wait for the referral of a healthy, as young as possible, girl, seems to be the longest. After referral, the time to travel can be anywhere from 4-8 months.

Cost: $13,000- 16,000

Children placed in 2006: 320 children came home from India to the United States in 2006.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from India:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at: bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Vietnam Adoption

Country Profile: Vietnam borders China, Laos and Cambodia. It is the 13th most populated country in the world. Vietnam also is the farthest east nation on the Indochina Peninsula.

Children Available: The children available for adoption in Vietnam range in age from 3 months to 15 years at referral. Children with special needs are also available. Siblings groups are rare and the adoption of two unrelated children at once is not illegal, but it is also not encouraged. Both boys and girls are available for adoption, although some agencies state that the wait for the referral of a boy will be shorter.

Requirements: Both couples and singles are permitted to adopt. There is no upper age limit, but must be at least 20 years older than the child adopting. Vietnam has no requirements for length of marriage or divorce, although some agencies may have different guidelines. The country has no set limit on the number of children in home, however if you have more than 4 children in the home, you might need special permission.

Time line: After compiling a dossier, you send it to Vietnam. The wait time for referral is varied with each agency. To get recent and realistic wait times, call a few agencies. Again, some agencies also state that the wait time for the referral of a boy will be shorter. After referral until travel it should be approximately 3-6 months. Travel to Vietnam is required, although, if needed, it may be only one parent. It is one trip of 2-3 weeks.

Cost: $17,000-24,000

Children placed in 2006: 163 children came home from Vietnam to the United States in 2006.

Adoptions Agencies for Adopting from Vietnam:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Saturday, May 5, 2007

China Adoption

Country Profile: China is one of the world's oldest civilizations. It is rich in history and culture. China is a vast country with 1.3 billion people. In 1979, the Government of the People's Republic of China implemented a new law in efforts to control their growing population. This law allows most families to only have one, sometimes two children. It is called the "Planned Birth Policy", but is known most widely as the "One Child Policy". Because of China's birth control policy, many children are abandoned each year. Most are girls, because of the old preference for male children. If you have additional children then what you are allowed you can face heavy fines. Each year thousands, perhaps even millions, of children are abandoned.

Children Available: Children age 6 months-13 years are available. The average age of child at time of coming home is 10-13 months. China does not allow the adoption of two unrelated children at once, sibling groups (other than twins) are not available. Twins are available, although limited. 95% of the children adopted from China are girls, although there are still many, many precious boys waiting for families in China too.

Requirements: Married couples age 30-50 for the non-special needs program. 50-55 for the special needs program. If neither of the parents has been divorced, the length of marriage must be 2 years. However, if either parent has been divorced, the length of marriage must be at least 5 years. A total of no more than 2 divorces is allowed for China. There is a limit of 4 children (biological or adopted) in the home at time of adoption. Unfortunately, China is not accepting single applicants at this time, however, there are many countries that do. On May 1, 2007 China's new requirements for adoptive families went into effect. For a complete list of these new regulations click here.

Special Needs/Waiting Child Program: After reading the requirements, if you do not already know, you may wonder what China's special needs program is exactly. China's special needs or "waiting child" program is a very good option for families interested in adopting from China. Different agencies are given waiting child listings from the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) for the agencies to place. The children on these lists have minor, correctable special needs (examples are cleft lip/palate, hepatitis b, missing limb, heart defect, clubfoot, birthmark, etc.) and/or the children can be older. My little sister, Sarah Lu, has a corrected cleft lip and was on a waiting child list.

Time line: The wait for healthy referrals is looking like it is about 18-24 months for dossier submission to referral. From referral to travel, it is about 6-8 weeks.

The wait time for special needs is significantly lower (Sarah Lu was home 6 months after our dossier submission).

Cost: $15,000-20,000

Children placed in 2006: 6,493 children came home from China to the USA in 2006 and was the 1st most adopted from country of international adoptions from the United States.

Adoptions Agencies for Adopting from China:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Our China Adoption Story: