Is it more difficult for a citizen of China to legally adopt a Chinese baby or toddler because they can't ...?

Mei-Ling

Local adoption isn't being encouraged very much in Asian countries.

It's starting to increase bit by bit - but not often to impact with any significant change in the way adoption works.

I hear you, Independent. I wish local Asian adoptions were encouraged more...

Rufus

My neighbour is Chinese. Her daughter was adopted before she came to Scotland, so it was domestic adoption. In total it cost her Â£3000. Her husbands cousin adopted from in different area and it cost her less than Â£1000 so it can vary.

Part of the money was administrative costs. The government also pay a monthly sum to the orphanage for the child while they are living there and the adoptive parent has to refund that money. Her daughter was 1 when they adopted her so they had to pay a years worth of monthly government payments. The rest was a donation to the orphanage (which is badly needed since they only get about Â£25 a month to care for each child)

If you contrast that with the cost of international adoption its a lot less. It cost a woman I work with about Â£20,000.

One thing my neighbour told me was that quite a few orphanages favour inter-country adoption over domestic. So they will have longer waiting lists (up to 5 years) for domestic and shorter lists for international. They're not supposed to do this since the government says that only 20% of the adoptions should be international, they do it anyway.

Serenity71

A person asked a question here a few weeks ago about adopting a child from Singapore. That person also stated they are Asian and found it almost impossible to find an agency for LOCAL adoption there. (The only response the asker got was negative and told to adopt in their own country. Hello that's what they were asking about, isn't that what people here try and push for? Chinese who live in China or where ever to adopt their own?)

But it has been noted recently that China is working harder to place children locally, that's why they now estimate 10 years for a couple to be placed with a child.(inter-country) The people who would be given priorty are likely to have Chinese connections through second placement or nationality.(I'm not speaking for US/Canada)

So what are you doing to ensure the kids are being placed in Chinese local families first? Ask China to encourage families stay together instead of the one child policy maybe? AP's and PAP's don't have as much power to simply walk in and order the Chinese government around like people seem to think. Wouldn't you feel powerful to be able to do that!

All they can do is the same as anyone else if they feel strongly enough about it.

Edit; In Australia there is currently inquiries going on in local and inter-country adoption. It looks like much needed reforms in attitude and approach will happen in the next few months. China has been highlighted again. ( Adoption Privacy laws and other area's have also been put forward. The documents are long and detailed to read.)

cmc

I think these people were just crazy. If they were rejected for this reason I would think it was a long time ago. Priority is given to couples in China, and adoption is getting more popular there as more people can afford to adopt.There are fewer children available for foreign adoption because of this. I visited China last year and was talking to chinese coworkers about adoption and they were also telling me about adoption being more popular/acceptable there.

Erin L

As several people have told you, some rule changes in China have allowed domestic adoption in China to become more possible for people, and the number of international adoptions has decreased A LOT. Specifically, Chinese parents are only allowed one child, so if they already had a biological child, or wanted one, they couldn't adopt. That has changed, and a second child who is adopted can now get full legal status in their family.

There are still cultural attitudes that discourage domestic adoption in China.

The biggest thing that would change things in China for Chinese orphans is to change the one child policy. It is becoming less common for people in China to abandon a child because it is a girl. Now, people still abandon a baby if it is special needs. The percentage of babies adopted from China internationally who are older or special needs is a lot greater than it used to be. It isn't the healthy baby girl producing machine it used to be, which is good. The number of healthy infant girls adopted internationally from China has decreased a whole, whole lot. Now, the abandoned children are often special needs children.

monkeykitty83

The reasons that domestic adoption isn't common in China are complex.

Yes, part of it is money. (While the rates for domestic adoption are not as high as for international, they're generally still comparably significant for a Chinese family.)

Additionally, babies and small children may be given preference for international adoption, making these highly "adoptable" children unavailable for domestic adoption. So yes, I think international adoption has had an effect.

There are domestic factors in China that play a part, too, though. It's not all because of international adoption.

There has previously been little government oversight or support for domestic adoption-- which CCAA says it is actively working to change-- and little to no cooperation between provinces.

The one child policy has discouraged domestic adoption, since in the past parents would have had to choose between adoption and a biological child. However, the rules have been changed so that parents may generally have a second child if that child is adopted.

Culturally, a great deal of emphasis in China is placed on roots, family history, and ancestry. For this reason, an adopted child might be viewed as unable to fit into the family. That's not the case for every single Chinese person, but it is a cultural trend that has an effect.

So... it's complicated. Money is part of it, but it's not just about money. Things will need to change both in international adoption AND continue to change domestically in China to keep more children in the country of their birth.

IDK!!

In China, they don't want babies. They pay MORE for older children because "all the hard word" is done and a lot has already been invested into the child.

littleJaina

I would think that it would be rare for it to be more difficult for a Chinese couple to adopt in China because of the cost of the adoption. I think it is far more likely that other situations prevent many domestic adoptions in China - their population restriction laws not being the least of which. However, as others have said, it is getting more common. Unfortunately, many of the children in China are in the orphanages for the very reasons that prevent other parents from adopting them. They may come from areas of desperate poverty - in which case, even if they are placed with a Chinese family, it is unlikely they will be placed near their original home. They may be an illegal 3rd or 4th child - despite popular opinion, many people adopt because they want to adopt, not because they are infertile. In China, these same population restictions will essentially guaranty that very few fertile couples will want/be able to adopt. Lastly - and sadly, it may be the old "It's a Girl" stereotype. Much of China is still rural, and if you are limited to only two children (Many rural areas do allow 2 per family) - it can be important to have boys. It is something we forget about these days in our more prosperous countries, but in rural areas, strong hearty children are key - weak chilren who cannot do produce enough to feed and clothe themselves are a burden.

Anyway, the couple your friend is talking about doesn't sound like prime adoptive material anyway. I suspect there is much more to their story than having babies adopted out from under them in China. If they are the kind of people your friend thinks may "steal" a baby, then don't you think that may have played a part in their not getting a child in the first place?

anastasia beaverhausen-the real1

adoption is adoption.

bottom line- no one gives a crap about what the kid feels. they just don't.

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