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China Waiting Children Program

The Children

The China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA), formally known as China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA), oversees the adoption of Chinese children and each child adopted from China has a file registered there. To facilitate the adoption of these children, the CCCWA maintains a database (the “shared list”) of these “waiting children” whose files can be reviewed by prospective adoptive parents. In addition, HAI has children on our “individual list” which gives us exclusive access to the files of several children. To view the children currently on our individual list, please click here.

The waiting children in China range in age from infant to 13 years old and their needs range from minor/correctable to severe. Each child on the shared list has a medical diagnosis (except for ”healthy older children” who are relatively healthy children between 8-13 years old).

The most common medical needs we see in waiting children in China include: Cleft Lip/Palate, Limb Differences, Heart Disease, Spinal Conditions, Vision/Hearing Issues, Cerebral Palsy, Genital Malformation, Down Syndrome and Healthy Older Children. Many children on the shared list have multiple special needs; Hepatitis B being a common secondary special need.

Please keep in mind that there are currently more boys than girls on the shared list. At this time we estimated that the shared list is 70%-80% boys.

In addition to understanding the medical conditions common to waiting children, it is important to understand and expect that any child living in an institutional setting will be developmentally delayed. This is especially true for the child who has received little specialized care for a special medical need. However, with proper nutrition, appropriate use of medical resources, care and love, most children are able to make significant gains in many areas once home.

Parent Eligibility

CCCWA’s guidelines for prospective parents wishing to adopt a waiting child from China differ slightly from the requirements to adopt healthy infants. Please use the following outline as a guide to decide whether adopting a waiting child from China is the right choice for your family. Please note, there is some leniency regarding these guidelines and we encourage you to call us to discuss your family’s particular situation.

Married Couples

Adoptive parents should be married for at least 2 years if neither applicant has been previously married. If there was a previous marriage (no more than 2 are allowed), the length of the current marriage must be at least 5 years.
Adoptive parents should be between the ages of 30-55 years old.
Adoptive parents should have at least a high school diploma or vocational skills training at the same level.
Adoptive parents should have an annual income that totals at least $10,000 for each family member, including the child to be adopted. (The family’s total income cannot include any government subsidy.)
The family should have a net worth of at least $80,000 (net worth is your total assets minus your total liabilities).
The family can have no more than 5 children under the age of 18 years in the home. The youngest child must be at least 1 year old.
Adoptive parents should have no history of criminal activity and/or drug or alcohol abuse.
Both adoptive parents should be physically and mentally healthy.

Singles

The CCCWA has recently decided to accept applications from single female applicants. Single women are now allowed to apply to adopt special focus children as designated by the CCCWA. Please use the following guidelines to determine if you meet the current requirements for a single adopting a waiting child from China. (Single applicants who currently have a stable relationship and live with a male partner must meet the requirements of a married couple.) Please note that there is some leniency regarding these guidelines and we encourage you to call us to discuss your family’s particular situation.

The applicant can adopt one special focus child at a time. If the applicant is adopting a second child, there must be an interval of at least one year between the first and second adoptions.
The applicant shall be between the ages of 30-50 years. For applicants over 50, the age difference between the child to be adopted and the applicant shall be no more than 45 years.
The applicant shall provide her marital status certificate (i.e. Divorce Decree).
Each applicant must submit a letter explaining her decision to remain single and describing her attitude toward marriage and her plans to include men as role models for the adopted child, (i.e.: inviting male friends to join family gatherings).
Applicants shall be both physically and mentally healthy.
Applicants shall have no criminal history.
The applicant shall have an annual income of $10,000 per family member, including the child to be adopted.
The applicant’s net worth must be at least $100,000.
The applicant shall have good medical insurance that can cover the medical expenses of the adopted child.
The applicant shall be an experienced parent or employed in a child-related field such as doctor, nurse, teacher, child psychologist, etc.
The applicant should have no more than 2 children under the age of 18 living in the home. The youngest child must be at least 6 years old.
The applicant must demonstrate that she is fully prepared to parent a child with special medical needs.

Time Frames

The length of time it takes for a family to identify a child varies. The length of time it takes depends on what a family is open to (e.g. age, gender, special need). When a family has identified a child, HAI will submit pre-approval.

After pre-approval from China, if you do not already have a dossier in China, you will begin the process of compiling the documents needed for your dossier and begin your home study. It takes roughly 3-6 months to complete the home study, dossier and obtain the first approval form United Stated Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). Once your dossier has been submitted to CCCWA, it will be roughly 4-5 months until you will travel.

From the time your family has received pre-approval to adopt a waiting child, you can expect to go to China to pick him or her up in 3-8 months, depending on the specifics of your case!