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China AdoptionAdoption from China --Even though this is a breakdown of program fees & services with International Family Services, you will get an idea of how China adoptions differ from other international adoptions.
China Program Description
China Home Study Outline
(For China Adoptions, to be given to your home study agency) International Family Services requests the following information to be included in the adoption home study: The Adoptive Home Study shall include no less than four interviews. These interviews include talks, meetings and face to face interviews. At least one face to face interview with each member of the household in the adoptive family home, and follow up contact by phone as needed. Please try to keep the study within 5-7 pages total, if at all possible. The narrative of the home study shall assess the following areas of concern: Please note: follow this outline as closely as possible, as it is an exact copy of what is required by the China Center of Adoption Affairs. Any deviation may result in the family to be delayed by a number of weeks or months. a) The number of occasions, the time, the place, and the method with which the social worker interviews the adoption applicants. Four interviews are required by CCAA regulation. b) Motivation of adoption. The reason for the adoption applicants to make the decision for adoption and their decision to adopt specifically from China. Their understanding of intercountry adoption, the potential risks and delays in the adoption of perspective adopted child and the understanding and mental preparedness for the child's inability to adapt that may arise in the post placement. c) Family background/brief introduction to the individuals. Education the adoption applicant's received, their work experience, interests and hobbies, religion and their relationship with parents and siblings, etc. d) Marital status. A couple who adopt in concert must give their views on each other, their attitude towards marriage, method for the solution to marriage issues and the extent of satisfaction with their marriage. The single adopters must give appraisal of singleness, whether they will get married in the future, and attitude they will adopt towards their adopted children after marriage in the future. The home study must state that the single applicant is not homosexual. The divorced shall state the causes and times for ending the relationship of previous marriage or marriages. e) Children status. Whether adopters have any legitimate children, children born out of wedlock and adopted children. If they have, they shall state explicitly the children's sex, age, interests and education. The children born in any previous marriage must be mentioned whether they live together with the applicants. Children age 10 and above living within the applicants must clearly state their views on their parent(s) adopting a child from China. f) Health status. Whether the applicants have suffered from mental or psychological illness and whether these conditions unfavorably affect the raising of the child. The health status of the applicants must be identical with the Health Examination Certificate and medical reports specifically provided by the doctor. The social worker who prepares the home study must make an assessment of the health status of the adoption applicants in order to determine whether they are suitable for adoption. g) Family financial status. The adopters' income and expenses (ie. annual income, other income from various investments, family assets, liabilities, living expenses) must be explained. The situation of balance between income and expenditure must be described in the family resources. The social worker who prepares the home study must make conscientious assessment of the financial capacity of the adoption applicants. h) History of abuse, violence, and criminal record. This must include whether the applicants have any history of alcoholism, drug addiction, substance abuse, domestic violence, sex abuse, child abuse, etc. (even if there has been no arrest or conviction because of the behavior mentioned above). Whether there is any criminal records (including arrests and conviction), whether there is any punishment and there is any sign of repentance and correction after punishment. The social worker preparing the home study must make an assessment of the applicants whether he/she is eligible to adopt. i) Living conditions. Must include the applicants' present situation of their residence, the area of their home and the environment in the community. The education institutions, medical facilities, and public service utilities, etc. especially the attitude of the community toward alien children of different nationalities must be included. The description of the home must include the assessment of the living conditions of suitability for the child and determine whether the living space meets the requirements of the local government (if there are such requirements). j) Plan for parenting.The interaction between the adopters and the child, their experience in raising, ways and means of parenting the adopted child. The applicants intending to adopt children of special needs or older children must state clearly their mental preparedness and desire for the adoption of this kind of child. k) Cohabitants in the home. The applicants (husband and wife or singles) who have cohabitants who are not members of the family must state the relationship between them and the reasons for cohabitation. Single applicants living together with the cohabitant of the same sex must submit statement that both of them are not homosexuals and the social worker must make reasonable, true and responsible assessment. Single applicants living together with friends of opposite sex must truly reflect the attitude of the heterosexual cohabitant friends towards their adoption from China, and their relationship between the cohabitant friends of opposite sex. l) Guardianship/raising commitment. Should the adoption applicants encounter an accident or premature death, who shall be designated as the child's guardian/raiser. Their age, profession, marital status, status of children, health and financial situation must also be given. The social worker must make an assessment as to whether the designated guardian/raiser is suitable for the guardianship/raising of the child. The guardian/raiser designated by the single adoption applicant must present a statement in writing to give his/her consent to the guardianship or raising of the adopted child. m) Unfavorable home study history. Must state whether the applicants have been rejected or been a target of an unfavorable home study before adoption. If they have been rejected before and have been given an unfavorable home study report, the social worker must give reason as to why there was an unfavorable home study report. The unfavorable home study report must be attached. n) Assessment and recommendation. The social worker must make an overall assessment of the adoption applicants as to whether they are suitable to adopt a child from China. Social worker must put forward suggestions of the child's age and health status. CCAA rules and regulations regarding the qualification of a home study agency 1) The home study agency who writes this report must be a non-profit organization 2) The China Center of Adoption Affairs will not accept a home study report written by an independent social worker. 3) Should the social worker preparing the home study fail to give a responsible true appraisal, the China Center of Adoption Affairs will terminate the agency's ability to submit documentation regarding adoption. The following documents must be attached to the home study report: 1) Copy of agency license 2) Copy of agreement between IFS and home study agency (received by China Program Director) 3) Guardianship statement (CH Guardianship) for single adoption applicants There have been many rumors circulating about slow downs and new regulations in the China adoption process. The CCAA recently had a meeting to clarify its guidelines and procedures. Peter, our representative in China, attended this meeting and added to the information provided by the CCAA to give an even better understanding. This is all stated below. 1. Timeline Good News: There are no official slow downs coming as a result of new regulations, of limits on the number of children the CCAA will allow to be adopted, or the CCAA offices changing locations. However, the reality of the situation is that there are over 170 adoption agencies in 16 countries that work to adopt children from China. The number of families applying to adopt children from China has doubled since 2003. The number of children being abandoned has not increased. As a result, it may start taking longer for families to be referred a child. This is due to the simple fact that there are not enough children available to meet the increasing desire for healthy infants. Official Statement: (found on the CCAA website) "CCAA highly emphasizes on efficiency, effectiveness and quality, we have put unremitting effort to achieve this. But the length of processing time after adoptive family apply for their application is correlated with the number of inter-country adopting families and the number with the adopting children waiting to be adopted. If the number of adoptive families is higher than the number of children to be adopted, the waiting period will be extended, on the other hand, if the number of children waiting for adoption out numbers the number of adoptive families, then the waiting period will be shortened. Therefore, the waiting period for adoptive families will vary according to this and not due to inefficiency or other controlling factors." Just so you know, IFS is currently receiving referrals 9-10 months after a dossier is sent to China and travel permissions a month after the acceptance is sent (Clearly, this is subject to change). The CCAA is great about sending referrals in the same order that they receive the dossiers, so we will have a better feel for when your referral will arrive as the months go by and we can see who ahead of you has received their referral. 2. Contacting the CCAA: No individuals should be contacting the CCAA to inquire about their dossier or the expected time for to receive their referral or travel permission. Doing this only takes the workers away from their jobs and slows the process for everyone. We encourage you to contact us at any time with any questions or concerns you may have. 3. Misinformation on the Internet: The CCAA cannot give any exact time frames for families to receive referrals or travel permissions and has warned that any person, agency, or website that claims to be able to predict these things is incorrect. In line with that warning, we would like to take the time to remind all of you that while message boards and other internet chat sites are great ways to connect with other adoptive families, they do not contain any official information and the information provided on them should not be regarded as such. These sites have been the cause of much unnecessary stress for many families over the past few weeks. 4. Accepting a referral: Referrals are valid for 45 days and therefore families need to take the time necessary to evaluate the medical documents and think seriously before making the decision to accept or deny a referral. According to Chinese law, when you sign the acceptance, the relationship has been established and to change your mind after that would be considered you abandoning that child. IFS has not had a problem with families changing their mind after accepting a referral, but this is an excellent reminder that this child will be yours forever and that proper time should be taken for you to consider the child you are referred. 
5.CCAA Website – www.china-ccaa.org: The CCAA has recently redone its website and has done a fantastic job keeping it up to date. One way they have done this is by adding the box shown on the right. (It can be found on the CCAA home page at the bottom right corner.) As the CCAA updates this box, we will be sending it out to contracted families via email so that you can be aware of what documents are being processed. The dates indicated refer to the date your dossier was logged into the CCAA system (your LID), not the date your dossier was sent to China (your DTC). Your log in date (LID) will be sent to IFS after your dossier arrives in China and we will pass it on to you. Right now, the CCAA reports that dossiers will be logged in 10 days after arriving in China. 6. One parent traveling: The CCAA will now require copies of re-adoption certificates for all children who enter the US on IR4 visas. (applies to children picked up by only one of their two parents) IFS will now require all families who adopt children on IR4 visas to send a copy of their re-adoption certificate with the child’s one-year post placement report. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please feel free to contact me. Brenda Compton Senior Adoption Consultant International Family Services Brenda@ifservices.org (417) 332-0844
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