Opinion / China Watch
China tightens adoption rules for foreigners
By Jim Wilson (The New York Times)
Updated: 2006-12-20 17:16
China plans to tighten rules on foreign adoptions, barring people who are
single, obese, older than 50 or who fail to meet certain benchmarks in
financial, physical or psychological health from adopting Chinese
children, according to adoption agencies in the United States.
Nancy Humphrey, coordinator of the Northern California chapter of
Families With Children From China, with her adopted daughter, Ruby, 7.
[Jim Wilson/The New York Times]
The restrictions are in response to an enormous spike in applications by
foreigners, which has far exceeded the number of available babies, said
leaders of American adoption agencies who were briefed by Chinese
officials earlier this month.
The new regulations, which have not yet been formally announced by the
government-run China Center of Adoption Affairs, or C.C.A.A., are
expected to take effect on May 1, 2007, and have raised concern and
anxiety among prospective adoptive parents in this country.
China has in recent years been the No. 1 source of foreign-born children
adopted by Americans �� in the fiscal year 2006, the State Department
granted 6,493 visas to Chinese orphans �� and its regulations on who can
adopt have been less restrictive than those in some other countries,
adoption agencies said.
Now, however, the agencies said, the Chinese government has formulated
guidelines intended to recruit adoptive families with qualities that
Chinese officials believe will provide the greatest chance that children
will be raised by healthy, economically stable parents.
��They need somehow to cut down on the number of families that are
submitting�� adoption requests, said Jackie Harrah, executive director of
Harrah��s Adoption International Mission in Spring, Tex.
��Their feeling is that while singles can be good parents,�� Ms. Harrah
said, ��it is better for a child to be raised in a two-parent family,
it��s better for a parent to be educated, it��s better for a parent not
to be obese because they have a chance of living longer. What C.C.A.A.
really wanted was the cream of the crop.��
Several agencies said they had been flooded with confused, anxious or
disappointed calls and e-mail messages from people wanting to adopt or
those going through the application process. Most of those who had
already initiated adoption applications were told that if they got all
their paperwork in by May 1, they were likely to be approved.
But international adoption agencies have already begun turning away
applicants who did not meet the new criteria.
The guidelines include a requirement that applicants have a body-mass
index of less than 40, no criminal record, a high school diploma and be
free of certain health problems like AIDS and cancer. Couples must have
been married for at least two years and have had no more than two
divorces between them. If either spouse was previously divorced, the
couple cannot apply until they have been married for at least five years.
In addition, adoptive parents must have a net worth of at least $80,000
and income of at least $10,000 per person in the household, including the
prospective adoptive child.
Parents can be as old as 55 if adopting a child with special needs.
Timothy Sutfin, executive director of New Beginnings Family and
Children��s Services, an international adoption agency in Mineola, N.Y.,
said the new guidelines put China in the middle of the spectrum of
countries �� not as restrictive as South Korea, but stricter than places
like Guatemala or Vietnam.
Keith Wallace, the chief executive of Families Thru International
Adoption, based in Evansville, Ind., said that adopting an American child
could also be restrictive, with standards for the health, economic
situation and marital status of the family.
Despite the new rules, adoption agencies said they did not believe that
the numbers of Chinese children adopted by Americans would decrease.
Since 1991, Americans have adopted 55,000 Chinese children. Adoptions
cost about $15,000, according to agency Web sites.
Since one agency, Great Wall China Adoption in Austin, Tex., posted the
new rules on its Web site last week, ��we��ve had about 400 e-mails and
phone calls a day,�� said Heather Terry, director of regional offices for
the agency. ��Some families were just turned down today. One was a couple
where the husband had social anxiety disorder and takes Zoloft,�� a
violation of the new guidelines that bar people who are taking medication
for anxiety or depression.
1 2
Hot Talks
� "changing china" political discussion
� Does the future belong to China?
� Ah all i know is that i know so little..
� How to be ready for a foreign boss
� Koizumi visits Yasukuni shrine for the 5th time
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese online
