Discover fast facts on China adoption plus find links to helpful resources and adoption agencies placing children from China in your state.

Adopting healthy children from China has become more difficult in recent years because of increased parental restrictions on marital status, health, education, and income. As a result, many more families in the U.S. have been adopting older children, sibling groups, or children with medical conditions (often correctable) through China’s Waiting Child Program. These adoptions are often processed at a much faster rate. China is party to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, so prospective parents must work through an agency that is both Hague-accredited in the U.S. and approved by the China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA; formerly the China Center of Adoption Affairs). For up-to-date information, visit the China Adoption page on the U.S. State Department’s website. Get parent-to-parent advice and support in the China Adoptive Families group in our online community, Adoptive Families Circle.

China Adoption Fast Facts

• 2013 Adoptions: 2,306 children

• Hague Country: Yes

• Profile of Children: 6% of children are younger than one year old; 74% are between one and four years old; 20% are five years and over. 68% are girls (2012). Children up to age 13 can be adopted.

• Average Total Cost: $25,000 to $35,000 (see China adoption cost breakdown)

• Parents’ Ages: Both adopting parents must be between 30 and 50 years old; couples 30 to 55 may be considered for special-needs children.

• Family Requirements: Adoptive parents must be married at least two years, or five years if there has been a previous divorce. Parents cannot have more than two divorces between them. Gay and lesbian couples cannot adopt. Parents cannot have more than five children under the age of 18 (with exemption for special-needs adoption). Both parents must have H.S. diploma or vocational training. Several specific income and health restrictions. Single women may adopt special-needs children.

• Travel: At least one parent must travel to China to adopt.

• Timeline for China Adoption: For healthy children, approximately five years from completion of dossier to referral. The wait time is considerably shorter for special-needs children.

• Route: Adopt through a US Hague-compliant adoption agency approved by the CCCWA.

Agency Directory for China Adoption

Personal Stories About Chinese Adoption

• “The China Doll”: A three-year-old Chinese daughter attracts hordes of admirers.

• “Our Journey to China”: A family adopts their daughter from China.

Helpful Books About China Adoption

• Lost Daughters of China: Abandoned Girls, Their Journey to America and the Search for a Missing Past

• Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son by Kay Ann Johnson

• Wish You Happy Forever by Jenny Bowen

• A Passage to the Heart: Writings from Families with Children from China by Amy Klatzkin

• When You Were Born in China: A Memory Book for Children Adopted from China by Sara K. Dorow

• An Empty Lap: One Couple’s Journey to Parenthood by Jill Smolowe

• The Waiting Child by Cindy Champnella

More China Adoption Resources

• U.S. Department of State – International Adoption from China

• Families with Children from China

• China Center of Adoption Affairs

• China Adoptive Families Group on adoptivefamiliescircle.com

• Email listservs: Raising China Children, Adoptive Parents China, Post-Adopt-China, and Waiting Children China