Program Updates

CHINA (updated March 2011)

The length of time for a healthy child from the China Program continues to lengthen. It is now more than 5 years. New Beginnings does not encourage new families to enter the China adoption program at this time unless they are open to a waiting child (child with special needs or healthy older child over age 6). For families open to a waiting child, their adoption process can be significantly shorter depending on the needs they are open to. Chinese heritage couples may be expedited in the non-special needs program provided they meet all conditions of expedition. Expedition for Chinese-heritage couples is currently 12 months faster than the regular program.

The China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has just announced that single women may once again adopt in China beginning today, March 15, 2011. The new singles program is specific to finding families for children designated as Special Focus.  This designation usually indicates the child has a special need, is pre-school or school age and has been on the shared waiting list for more than 60-days. It can also indicate a non-special needs child of school age who has been on the shared waiting list for more than 60-days.

The following is the full text of CCAA’s notice:

• Government departments and adoption agencies in receiving countries, In order to promote special needs child adoption and guarantee the basic interests of the orphaned and disabled children, CCAA decides to accept the adoption applications from female single applicants to adopt according to the requirements listed in this notice, starting from March 15, 2011:
  Female single applicants are allowed to adopt special focus children listed on the special Needs System of CCAA.
• One applicant can only adopt one special focus child at a time, with an interval of at least one year between two adoptions.
• The applicant shall have reached the age of 30 years and are under 50. 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 civil status certificate. Unmarried applicants shall provide certification for being single and non-homosexual; divorced applicants shall provide the divorce certificate of the last marriage; and widowed applicants shall provide the death certificate of their ex-spouse.
• The reason of being single and attitude towards marriage. Applicants shall have clear indication of willingness to appoint male figures as role models for the adopted child, and welcome male friends to join family gatherings.
• Applicants shall have received inter-country adoption training and training specifically for special needs child adoption so as to understand fully the physical and psychological needs of special needs children.
• Detailed nurturing and rehabilitation plan. Applicants shall be qualified personally and socially for caring special needs children and have wide social and family supporting network which can provide assistance any time.
• Guardians appointed by the applicants shall provide written statement as consent to act as the guardian of the adopted child. X. If the applicant has a stable relationship and lives with a male partner, t he requirements of couple applicants shall be applied.
• Applicants shall be healthy both physically and mentally according to the requirements by CCAA for prospective adoptive couples.
• Applicants shall be law abiding with no criminal records, and have good moral quality and conduct
  The family annual income shall reach $10,000 per family member, including the prospective adoptee and the family net assets value should reach $100,000.
• The applicant shall have good medical insurance which can cover the medical expense of the adopted child.
• Applicants shall be experienced in child caring or be occupied in child-related fields, such as doctor, nurse, teacher, child psychological counselor, etc. It's best that the applicants have already had successful experience in caring for special needs children.
• The number of children in the applicant's family under the age of 18 years shall be no more than two, and the youngest one should have reached the age of 6 years old.
• Applicants shall be fully prepared for adopting a special focus child.
• Social workers shall provide the following information fully and timely in the home study reports besides family visit interviews: Adoption motive. The decision to adopt a special focus child shall be well-considered. Applicants shall be capable of caring for a special need child and be responsible for the well-being of the child.

China Adoption Information >>

COLOMBIA (updated March 2011)

The Colombia program is a cooperative program that New Beginnings is doing with Adopolis, Inc. in Washington, D.C. The program seems to be a stable program with children from infants up to toddler available as well as some older children and special needs children. Preference is given to families of Colombian descent. The difficulty for some families with this program is the 4-6 week stay in the country to complete the adoption. This program can take from 15 to 24 months to complete.

Colombia Adoption Information >>

MEXICO (updated October 2008)

The Mexico program is a cooperative program that New Beginnings is doing with Adopolis, Inc. in Washington, D.C. This is a new program placing children from the States within Mexico. More information will be available soon.

VIETNAM (updated March 2011)

As of September 1, 2008, the Vietnam program has been suspended by the government of Vietnam. To best monitor developments in the program, see www.adoption.state.gov and www.jcics.org

THAILAND (updated March 2011)

The Thai adoption program is one of the longest running programs at New Beginnings. It is a small program, but we have had good success this past year. We completed our first placement through the Pattaya Orphanage which was very exciting. We continue to place children with the Thai Red Cross Children Home as well. Thailand has placed limitations on the number of applicants New Beginnings can submit each year, but we have a few spaces left for 2011. A preference for these spaces will be given to families in states New Beginnings is licensed.

Thailand Adoption Information >>

RUSSIA (updated March 2011)

New Beginnings continues to work in cooperation with Happy Families with a Russian adoption. This type of cooperative relationship enables New Beginnings to work with local couples as their families grow through adoption from Russia.

Russia Adoption Information >>

PERU (updated March 2011)

Peru has always been a small and quiet program. At this time, the program has become extremely slow. We would not encourage applicants into the program unless they were given special consideration, such as being Peruvian descent.

Peru Adoption Information >>

KOREA (updated March 2011)

The Korean Program is going very well. Currently, New Beginnings is able to match a family within two or three months of completing the Home Study. Regrettably, the length of time form the match to the placement can be up to a year. This will make the estimated total length of time for the program at 18 months. New Beginnings can only accept applicants who reside in states we are licensed

Korea Adoption Information >>

ETHIOPIA (updated March 2011)

New Beginnings is currently offering Ethiopian adoptions in cooperation with Children’s Home Society and Family Services (CHSFS). However, with the potential for changes in the program, we would encourage families to contact CHSFS before proceeding.

Ethiopia Adoption Information >>

OTHER

Please check our Cooperative Relationships for possibilities of other programs through which New Beginnings may help families to adopt internationally.