There's millions fewer unwanted American children than there would otherwise be:
Thankfully our wonderful and beautiful new son who's been home from Russia for six months was permitted to live by his mother.
Posted on 12/19/2006 12:56:34 PM PST by Dr. Marten
The move comes amid a surge in foreign applications to adopt Chinese children. The United States is the No. 1 destination for children adopted abroad, but the number going to Europe and elsewhere is rising.
The restrictions are meant to limit adoptions to “only the most qualified families,” said the Web site of one agency, Harrah's Adoption International Mission in Spring, Texas.
An employee of the government-run China Center of Adoption Affairs, the agency that oversees foreign adoptions, said it has issued new guidelines but refused to confirm the details released by the American agencies. He wouldn't give his name.
A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Beijing said it was looking into reports of the new regulations. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with embassy rules.
The Chinese agency also is trying to increase the number of children available by creating a new charity to improve conditions in orphanages and “keep infants and young children alive and well enough to be adopted,” Harrah's said.
Americans adopted 7,906 children from China in 2005, raising the total since 1989 to 48,504, according to the Joint Council on International Children's Services in Alexandria, Va., an association of adoption agencies and parents' groups. The group's Web site lists 110 U.S. groups that arrange adoptions from China.
Under the new rules, only people who have been married for at least two years will be eligible to adopt, according to Harrah's, the New Beginnings Family and Children's Services Inc. of Mineola, N.Y., and Families Thru International Adoption Inc. of Evansville, Ind.
Beijing previously allowed adoptions by unmarried foreigners.
The agencies said Chinese officials disclosed the rules at a Dec. 8 meeting in Beijing. They take effect May 1.
Among other restrictions, couples must have a Body Mass Index – a measure of obesity – of no more than 40 and be aged 30-50, with people up to age 55 considered for children with special needs, according to the agencies.
The rules bar parents who take medication for psychiatric conditions including depression and anxiety or have “severe facial deformity.”
Many Chinese children adopted abroad are girls who are given up by couples who, bound by rules that limit most urban families to one child, want to try for a son. Others are left at orphanages or by the roadside by unmarried mothers or poor families.
A sharp increase in foreign applications for adoption has led to a backlog in approvals, with waiting times rising from six months in early 2005 to as much as 15 months now, according to adoption agencies.
What is the Chinese position on adoption by same-sex couples?
In some States are Farms for the fat. They say its to mask an insecurity - eating too much. It is their Comfort.
Why is there a surge of foreign applicants to adopt kids? What about all the orphans in their own country?
Blindfolded and kneeling with one in the back of the head.
I believe the marriage requirement was designed to prevent same-sex adoptions without explicitly stating such.
Exactly... My wife and I start foster parenting classes in February in hopes to eventually adopt a few siblings in need of a good home.
Most people still want to adopt babies, healthy babies. Little interest in children over three. I've never understood why, I mean a diaper free child would be perfect.
"Why is there a surge of foreign applicants to adopt kids? What about all the orphans in their own country?"
While there are children in every country who are in need of a good home, those in developing countries such as China have no government funding and the children live in far worse conditions.
They're holding out for more money.
Congratulations! Friends of mine, an older couple, fostered a brother and sister, 5 and 7 at the time. Adopted them a year later and their daugther just made the high school honour roll - again ;)
Controlling the gene pool in China.
Is there some Chinese thing about obesity--? I mean, they're not asking for parents who are perfectly healthy.
Some friends of mine have one daughter from China. They tell us that because of his diabetes and her obesity they will probably have to look at Vietnam for another adoption.
Supply and demand...even affects the communists, eh?
No country permits international adoption by same-sex couples, though unless the couple is legally married in Mass., Vermont, etc, it's trivial to circumvent - the adoptive parent just presents themselves as a single person with a friend along to help out.
This is probably why they're barring adoption by single people.
Singles who adopt from China must sign a sworn document stating that they are heterosexual.
China also requires an explanation of the relationship of the future adopting parent with any unrelated adults living in the household.
There's millions fewer unwanted American children than there would otherwise be:
Thankfully our wonderful and beautiful new son who's been home from Russia for six months was permitted to live by his mother.
When we went through the process about 5+ years ago, it was "don't ask don't tell."
Seriously, several "alternative" couples were not happy they had to hide their orientation during the adoption process. Only one of them could adopt the girl.
Someone else asked about children over three. You can run into developmental issues is you go too much beyond 2 years old. They don't get that good of food in the orphanage system and it can cause problems later on.
It's not just obesity. China is tightening a number of requirements dealing with other health issues, finances, criminal background, education, and marital history.
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