March 15, 2006 - Washington Post article by Associated
Press reporter Joe McDonald "China Says No Babies Improperly Adopted".
Click here for the article.
November 29, 2005 - The China Center for
Adoption Affairs (CCAA)
posted the following on their website (http://www.china-ccaa.org):
Regards to the
length of time period during matching process
Recently, there are many speculations
on the waiting time period for adoption process for inter-country
adoption coming to China to adopt children. The following will help
clarify such concerns:
CCAA highly emphasizes on
efficiency, effectiveness and quality, we have put unremitting effort
to achieve this. But the length of processing time after adoptive
family apply for their application is correlated with the number of
inter-country adopting families and the number with the adopting
children waiting to be adopted. If the number of adoptive families is
higher than the number of children to be adopted, the waiting period
will be extended, on the other hand, if the number of children waiting
for adoption out numbers the number of adoptive families, then the
waiting period will be shortened. Therefore, the waiting period for
adoptive families will vary according to this and not due to
inefficiency or other controlling factors.
November 13, 2005 - The United States Consulate General
Guangzhou (http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/guangzhou) posted the following:
Terrorist Threat for Americans in Guangzhou
The United
States Government has received credible information that a terrorist
threat may exist against official U.S. Government facilities in
Guangzhou. This threat also may exist for places where Americans are
known to congregate or visit, including clubs, restaurants, places of
worship, schools or outdoor recreation events.
American
citizens in south China are advised to be aware of their surroundings
and remain alert to possible threats. Americans living or traveling in
China are encouraged to register with the U.S. Consulate General in
Guangzhou through the State Department's travel registration website,
https://travelregistration.state.gov/. By registering, American
citizens make it easier for the Consulate to contact them in case of
emergency.
U.S.
citizens planning to travel to China should consult the Department of
State's country-specific Public Announcements, Travel Warnings,
Consular Information Sheets,
the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement and other information,
available at
http://travel.state.gov/. Up-to-date information on security
conditions can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 in the U.S.
and for callers outside the U.S. and Canada a regular toll line at
1-202-501-4444.
October 20, 2005 - JCICS
sent a letter to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) in support
of the Joint
Proposal for Promoting Healthy Development of Children in China's
Welfare Institutions. The Joint Proposal
states that through mutual effort all parties involved "will work to
help orphans and handicapped children living in a child welfare
institutions by providing richer, more stimulating environments, quality
nurture and care, and a standard of living better suited to foster their
healthy growth. Children will receive education and support in
developing their individual abilities, and will be prepared for
relationships with families and society."
Click here to read the letter sent by Joint Council, which included
a copy of the
JCICS White Paper on International Child Welfare.
Read the
full text of the proposal.
September 16, 2005 -
China joins the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention
The People’s Republic of China deposited its instrument of ratification
of the Hague Convention with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. China will enter into force and become a "Hague Country" on
January 1, 2006. China is the 67th State to join this global Convention.
I'm an agency - what does this mean
for me?
It is not anticipated that adoptions from China will be impacted at
this time. If your agency is planning on continuing to work in China
once the United States has ratified the Hague Convention (estimated to
occur in 2007-2008) then you will need to be accredited under the Hague
regulations. Accreditation has not begun yet, but is expected to
commence some time during 2006. As you begin to prepare for Hague
Accreditation, you may be interested in our Hague Survival Guide for
agencies, a benefit free to members of JCICS. Please visit our
Hague page for more information or feel free to
contact our office at (703) 535-8045.
I'm in the process/ thinking about
adopting from China - does this effect me?
It is not anticipated that
adoptions from China will be impacted at this time. According to the
Department of State, China has indicated that they plan to continue
working with the United States once they officially enter into force
under the Treaty. China is aware that the United States is
planning to ratify the Hague Convention in the near future.
April 29,
2005
JCICS sent a letter to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA)
in support of
China's Tomorrow Plan.
Click here to read this letter.
On June 3, 2004,
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that, effective
immediately, it has lifted the temporary suspension of adoptions
from the Zhuzhou Child Welfare Institute in Hunan Province of China.
There have been no additional cases of measles since the recommended
suspension was imposed. Standard adoption procedures for all orphanages
in China have resumed.
The
text of the CDC announcement is available at
http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/multistate_measles_adoptees_2004.htm.
April 16, 2004 -
The
Center for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a press release about
the recent measles outbreak in China. The CDC is recommending
a temporary suspension of adoptions for children from the Zhuzhou
Child Welfare Institute in the Hunan Province of
China. They suggest that "prospective adoptive parents
traveling internationally to adopt children and their household
contacts should ensure that they have a history of natural disease or
have been vaccinated according to guidelines of the Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices. Prospective parents of international
adoptees from China should stay informed as more information becomes
available about the measles outbreak." For more information
please consult their press release and
flier. JCICS will
continue to monitor the situation and update our website with new
information.
October 3, 2003
Joint Council recently had the privilege to host a
luncheon for the visiting
China Center on Adoption Affairs (CCAA)
delegation in Washington DC and to
co-host an Adoption Conference in Denver Colorado along with the
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.
Click here to read more about these recent events.
August 7, 2003
The Bureau of Citizenship and
Immigration Services (BCIS) announced an
interim rule
to assist prospective adoptive parents adopting from China who were
effected by the SARS crisis. The BCIS Director now has the discretionary authority
to extend the validity of the I-600A in cases where parents face
processing delays as a direct result of the SARS-related suspension of
processing. “Amending our regulations to account for
this extraordinary circumstance is the prudent thing to do,” said BCIS
Director Eduardo Aguirre. “It will allow us to help parents who
complete their adoption, while continuing to protect the best interest
of the child, which is, and must always be, our paramount concern.”
Click here for a copy of the interim rule in the Federal Register.
July 28, 2003
The Adoption Unit in Guangzhou, China has
announced that the SARS crisis in China has passed. The temporary
policy that began in April 2003, which stated that only one parent
needed to appear for the visa interview, has now been lifted. Normal
processing will resume August 1. Therefore, both the adopted child and
adopting parents are required to appear for the visa interview.
June 24, 2003
Following the
World
Health Organizations' lifting the travel warning to Beijing, China
the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has resumed adoption
procedures.
CCAA had temporarily suspended adoption formalities on May 15,
2003 due to the SARS epidemic. Today, June 24, they announced that
they would resume sending referrals and travel notices to families
and apologize for the delay and inconvenience experienced by prospective
adoptive parents. See below for the full announcement.
CCAA Announcement
June 24, 2003
A Public Notice about Resumption of Normal Adoptive Formalities of
Travelling to China
Seeing that the World Health Organization formally announced that
it lifted its travel advice to China, and removed China from the list
of areas with recent local transmission of SARS epidemic, the China
Center of Adoption Affairs (the CCAA) decided to resume the normal
adoptive formalities of travelling to China after giving a report to
the Ministry of Civil Affairs and getting its approval. Hereby the
related matters will be posted as the following:
1. From June 24, 2003, the CCAA will restart to mail the Letter of
Seeking Confirmation from Adopters and the relative materials to the
foreign adopters. Up to the date when the Letter of Seeking
Confirmation from Adopters is signed and mailed, if the physical
examination report of the adoptee does not reach its expiry of 6
months, the CCAA will not renew the report additionally.
2. From June 24, 2003, the CCAA will resume the issuing and posting
of the Notice of Coming to China for Adoption to foreign adopters, the
period of validity of the letter will be 3 months as before. Those
ones issued and posted before May 15, 2003 will be considered as valid
for 6 months with no new letter being produced.
3. The foreign adopters need to contact the adoption registry in
advance before they travel to China to do their adoption registration.
After the date being ascertained through consultation will the
adopters travel to complete their adoption.
The CCAA would like to apologize to the involved foreign adopters
for any inconvenience that was caused by the previous postponement of
the adoptive formalities of travelling, and to express our gratitude
to all the foreign governments, embassies and consulates in China, the
foreign adoptive organizations and foreign adopters who have given us
great understanding and assistance to our work.
The China Center of Adoption Affairs
June 5, 2003
BCIS Memo
The Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) released a
memo today regarding China
adoption cases. If a family's I-600A has been approved on or before
June 6, 2003 BCIS will approve the form to another country if so
requested, at no additional cost. The request should be made with Form
I-824.
For those who have a pending I-600A, but wish to
adopt from a different country, can do so at no additional cost. If they
wish to continue their adoption from China, it will be processed as
usual.
May 15, 2003
Provisional Measures about Appraisal System for Foreign Adoption
Organizations given by the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA)
CCAA will be implementing an appraisal system for the foreign
adoption organizations that work in China. They have recently
released the Provisional Measures developed by their assessing
committee.
Joint Council is currently reviewing the Provisional
Measures for the Appraisal System and preparing comments.
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