China Adoption Program: Waiting Children

WHFC is one of the U.S. agencies approved to place waiting children from China. CCAA has indicated they will expedite the process for applicants who are adopting waiting children. Children with special medical needs, as well as older children who may have more minor medical issues, are in need of homes. WHFC will attempt to secure the information necessary for a family to make a decision about their ability to parent a child with that particular medical problem.

Families can only be considered for a waiting child once they have prepared the complete dossier for China, including CIS approval. After the matching, WHFC will express mail the information to China and typically it will take between 3-6 months for families to be approved by CCAA. Once we receive the approval notice, families can travel to China either with a group or alone. We strongly encourage families to travel with a group. In this way, families will have the support from WHFC group leaders, have the opportunity to build up close connection with other adoptive families, and enjoy more cost-effective group rates. Families adopting waiting children should be aware that they may not be able to adopt their child from the same orphanage as the rest of the group. It is likely that a waiting child may come from a different orphanage, but there will always be a competent guide in the province to take care of the family and accompany them to complete the adoption process in the province where the child is located.

Most waiting children from China have correctable, fairly mild special-needs, or they become waiting children just because they are older (5 years or older). Some of the common special needs are cleft lip or palate, missing fingers or toes, congenital heart disease, or skin disease. Waiting children from China can be viewed in the Waiting Children section. Be sure to read about our subsidies available for the adoption of waiting children.

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