Chinese to start limiting who can adopt

[turtledove]

If you are unmarried, over 50, obese, have a facial deformity, or are taking antidepressants your application won't be approved (after May 1).

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/12/19/china.adoption.ap/index.html

I think this is so sad. One more hurdle for people who want and have the ability to care for a child to cross (as if the expense and personal heartbreak getting to that point aren't enough)!

[hudsonam]

Severe facial deformity?! That suddenly makes you an unfit parent? I don't agree with the antidepressent rule either, although I can see it in severe cases where perhaps the medication isn't 100% helping the person, but the facial deformity rule is just silly. It's all silly.

[icunurse]

Most countries which allow international adoption already have some pretty strict criteria (different for each country, but many limit on age, number of existing children, single/same sex, weight, health, etc). China has had such a surge in adoptions (don't have the stats in front of me, but HUGE increase in numbers of people wanting to adopt) that they can start to set standards that are more strict without really affecting the number of children adopted.

IMHO (and I say this as someone who is planning to adopt internationally), the child is born into their homeland. If their homeland wants to make certain criteria standard, even if we don't agree with them, those children belong to their country until they are adopted out of the country. They have every right to do what they think is best in the hopes of giving the child a good life away from their homeland.

[newmomto3kids]

Keep in mind, also, that foreign countries also fear what may happen to their children once adopted. I recently read about the fears of a Haitian official that their children were being adopted as slaves. Can you imagine fearing that people were simply buying your children to use, not adopting them out of love.
I think those are strange criteria, but I also realize that they are not operating under the same standards and information available to us. They have to factor in public opinion in China, etc etc.
Adoption is such a twisty path, hopefully all those who wish to have children will find a country in which they match the criteria for adoption. Just because the road closes for some to China, it may open up in another country.
Thanks for the article, it is very interesting.

[marinkitty]

I know a single mom who is in the process of adopting from China right now. She found out she was approved about a month ago (even before this they have limited the number of single parents) and then about a week ago they added a zillion more hoops she will have to jump through before her dossier will be complete. She was just devestated. It is sad to think that there are so many others like her that now will just not be able to adopt from there. And I just hope that it is true that she will still be able to do this (she should have her paperwork complete in early January but I have no idea what happens from then in the process).

I totally understand that they have the right to put conditions on adoptions, but it still seems so arbitrary to put these broad conditions on people. This woman is already a mom (her son is almost grown) but she is just an amazing person and has a wonderful extended family support network - it just seems crazy. She really wanted to adopt from China for personal reasons, so just up and switching to another country would not have had the same meaning for her.

Holly
Mom to Mia (3.17.03) and baby brother Jack (3.23.05)

[BaileyBea]

Yes, there have been a lot of cases of children being adopted as slaves. i have friends who tried to adopt from Russia but had a difficult time. Now they are going the China route.

DH and I are are one of their references. We have a social worker coming to visit us in two weeks to ask us questions about our friends that are adopting. I already filled out two questionaires too! Let's just say they are being very detail oriented w/my friends adoption. Which is nice to see.

Nancy

[holliam]

I say this as mama to our internationally adopted girlie.

Perhaps the Chinese government should focus on their internal social, political, and economic issues that force so many children to be abandoned in the first place. If they focused on those issues, then perhaps there would not be so many children needing homes from people outside of their birth country. It's as if they are saying, "well, these children aren't good enough for us but we only want the "best" (as defined by us) parents for them."

I urge *everyone* to not jump in and assume that these changes are made to prevent kidnapping or slavery. Spreading those types of rumors just adds more fuel to the fire. Yes, some illegal activities take place in adoption, just like any thing else run by our dear human species, but it's not just international adoption. The vast majority of adoptions are completed with honesty and integrity.

The issues surrounding international adoptions are very complicated and, sadly, rarely have anything to do with the children themselves. There are tremendous social, political, and frankly financial reasons.

I am furious about international adoption right now. There is a lot of stuff happening with Guatemalan adoptions too. If you're curious, check out http://www.guatadopt.com

I quite strongly believe that fundamental changes do need to happen in regards to international (and domestic!) adoption. I feel equally strongly that the currently offered solutions are not really in the best interest of the children.

Hopping off soapbox...

Holli

[dules]

Not meaning to fuel a debate here, but I'd be curious to see proof of "a lot of cases of children being adopted as slaves". I know people IRL and online who have adopted and we looked into it extensively at one point, and the amount of research, background checks, home visits, references, etc. seems fairly substantial, making it hard to believe that "a lot" of children adopted through these laws/rules end up as slaves.

Sorry, off my soapbox now. :) I'd just like to see some substantiation.



Mary

[jenjenfirenjen]

Holli, I'm so glad you chimed in. That's just what I wanted to say but I think it carries more weight from someone who has adopted internationally. While I understand a country's desire to adopt their children out to "the best" I personally know a family who has adopted two girls from China. The wife is obese. The husband may very well be on antidepressants. But they are fabulous loving parents and I *know* those girls have an exponentially better life than they would have had at an orphanage in China. I hate to think that these new rules would have prevented their adopting the girls.

[MelissaTC]

ITA with you in regards to China needing to look inward and make necessary changes.

At the same time, most of the new guidelines are not unreasonable to me. These are the updated qualifications, as listed by my agency-

Applicants must be a legally married heterosexual couple. At least one applicant must be a U.S. citizen.

Couples with no previous marriages must be married for at least two years at the time the dossier is logged in at the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). If either spouse has been previously married, the current marriage must be at least five years old at the time the dossier is logged in at the CCAA. No applicant may have had more than two divorces.

Applicants must be at least 30 years old and no older than 49 years old at the time their dossier is logged in at the CCAA . Applicants are qualified to adopt children based on their ages as specified below. When spouses have ages that fall into two categories, they must be open to the upper age limit of the child to be adopted.


Applicants ages 30 - 44 qualify for a child with no known medical conditions up to 12 months of age.*
Applicants ages 45 - 49 qualify for a child with no known medical conditions up to 24 months of age.*
* Currently, the youngest children coming out of China are about seven months old. All families are qualified for a child older than the above-mentioned age range, if desired.

All above applicants are qualified, if desired, for a child with medical conditions.

Families must have no more than four minor children living in the home, and the youngest child must be at least 12 months old at the time the dossier is logged in.

Families must document $10,000 of annual income per member in the household, including the to-be-adopted child. A minimum of $80,000 net worth is required.

Applicants must be in good physical and mental condition necessary to provide responsible care for an adopted child. Each applicant’s Body Mass Index (BMI) must be under 40. (BMI equals a person's weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. BMI=kg/m 2).

Applicants must have a minimum of high school education or equivalent.

Applicants must have no criminal record or history of domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, or substance abuse.

Families who have adopted from China previously may submit their next dossier to China once their previous adoption has been finalized for at least one year.


I guess I look at is as it is their country, their rules. It is a choice to pursue such an adoption. I am sad for the single Moms because a married parent does not always make a good one. I don't know what else to say. This is such a touchy subject and obviously one close to my heart. :(

[DrSally]

That's a strange assortment of limitations.