Helpful Links for Adopting from China

Alex's note: This appears to be an excellent resource. I have not veryfied every link or every statement this gal is making, but an overview shows that she is putting some very strong effort into providing some great info on her Blog for people who are looking into the process of international adoption.

I highly reccomend checking out the original post, as there are many links to additional resources.
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If you are just beginning to learn about adopting a child from the People's Republic of China there are a few facts you might want to consider:

The vast majority of the children available for adoption from China are girls, though there are some boys available for adoption;

As of today's posting date, the wait for adopting a healthy baby girl in China (from hiring an agency to returning home) is nearing 3 years (unless you or both of your parents hold passports from China, in which case you would be expediated and your wait would be over a year) and, as with all international adoption, it's possible the waiting time could increase;


If you are interested in adopting an older or special needs child, wait times could also be considerably less, but it will probably still take you at least a year to go through the entire adoption process start to finish;


In order to adopt from China you will have to travel to the country for about two weeks;


As with all international adoption the rules now set in place to regulate adoption from China could change at any time.

Do You Qualify to Adopt from China?



If after learning this, you are still interested in adopting from China then you will need to see if you qualify. Chinese restrictions on perspective adoptive parents (PAPs) are some of the most stringent in existence today. To find out more you should go to:



U.S. Department of State: Chinese Intercountry Adoption


Research, Research, Research!



A good next step is to join chat groups on adopting from China. There are several on Yahoo Groups. Each group has a screening process that you must go through in order to join. It is generally not difficult to complete the process.





The main groups on Chinese adoption are:


A China Adoption (ACA) - ACA is a support group for parents and prospective parents adopting from the People's Republic of China. This group is for prospective families at any phase of the adoption process, and also agency representatives. Membership is restricted to folks 30 years of age or older as China requires for adoptions.


Adoptive Parents China (APC) - APC is a support group for parents and prospective parents adopting from the People's Republic of China. I do not believe that adoption agency representatives are allowed to join this group, though this does not mean they don't sneak through the screening process.


Rate Your China Adoption Agency - This group provides a forum for people who have adopted children from the People's Republic of China to disclose their experience with their adoption agency. It also provides a source for prospective adoptive parents to get information on various agencies. It is open to anyone who has already adopted from China, is in the process of doing so, or is seriously contemplating a Chinese adoption. Members are permitted to "vent" about their agency, if their experience was negative.However, it is also expected that they will do so with courtesy and truthfulness. Adoption agency representatives are not allowed to join this group, though they might sneak through the screening process.


Rate Your Special Needs Chinese Aoption Agency - This group is for those who have already adopted a special needs child from China or are researching to find an agency that has good standing in the Adoption Community. This list is for the good, the bad, the ugly to be told without the risk of being flamed. Adoption agency representatives are not allowed to join this group, though they might sneak through the screening process.


China Expediated Referral Group (CERG) - This is a specialized China adoption support group for families that have requested expedited referral status due to Chinese ancestry with their dossiers. This status was made available by the CCAA as of 8/1/01. This group was formed so that families may wait together and share any news that they may hear about the process without feeling guilty of their special status. I do not believe that adoption agency representatives are allowed to join this group, but this does not mean they don't sneak through the screening process.
Other good groups to join are:




Adoption Agency Research - International - Adoption Agency Research Group was formed to help prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) in their research and selection of an international adoption agency. Adoption agency representatives are not allowed to join this group, though they might sneak through the screening process.


International Adoption Agency Feedbacks - This group was created to inform people researching international adoption agencies, attorneys and home study agencies. This group is open to ANYONE wanting this information including agencies, attorneys and home study agencies.

There may be other chat groups to join. You can do a search on Yahoo Groups or a general Internet search on Google. In particular, some cities and states have groups so that people from the same area can chat and meet up.


The Down and Dirty

Along with researching agencies and other people's experiences on Yahoo Groups, there are some other Websites I would recommend that may deal with some of the darker sides of adoption from China.