Waiting Child Challenge-China's Waiting Child Program

Take 5 minutes and repost this info.  Maybe you will help a waiting child find a home.  


I've learned a lot about Chinese adoption in the last few weeks, specifically in regards to waiting special needs children. Some things I've learned: 


The timeline is crazy fast.  12 months or less, and if you wait to accept a referral on a child until later in the process, the child can end up being under a year old when they travel home.  I don't know how often that happens but it is feasible.  It is also very feasible to come home with a child under two.


It is not crazy expensive in terms of adoption (I would say 23, 000 on average. Remember that an average US domestic newborn adoption averages 20, 000).


The process is stable and does not contain a lot of variation as to what will happen and when it will happen.


The information available to adoptive parents regarding the health of the child is actually pretty good.  (Comparatively, we are still talking about international adoption and trying to understand a child's health needs without actually examining them.  You also have a government trying to share information which means things could be misdiagnosed or the information could be outdated.)  Compared to the information we received with our Haitian adoptions, it's like a book.  

There are lots and lots and lots of waiting kids in China.  The system for locating a waiting child is very spelled out and well organized.  The Chinese government controls every facet of adoptions and so there are several different lists that kids end up being on, all fairly well publicized if you know where to look.  There is also a crazy good advocate system in place in the US, created by an assortment of people who want to see those waiting kids find homes.  If you want more information on the different sites, let me know.  I literally know of at least ten websites dedicated to waiting kids, many of which provide you with great information about specific children through.  


Curious about what types of kids are waiting?  C'mon, you know you are.  Head over to Sharing Life and Love to view a few photos including 5 year odl Wen Wen.