China Babies - China Adoption Research

Cant you answer questions on message boards?

As an advertiser, we are usually on whats called moderated status on message boards, which means every post must be approved, unlike some folks who are unmoderated and can post immediately. We think this is a good measure, as it prevents advertisers from spamming the boards.

Because of the moderated status, in the past, messages we post sometimes dont show up until much later than we post them, and are often no longer relevant to the conversation as it makes it appear we are not responding because we are trying to hide something.

One case in particular, the message board owner asked us not to respond to questions about ads we post, as she considered it a violation of the one ad per month policy. Out of respect for her wishes, and a desire to put all of our responses to some very good questions in one place, we chose to create the Common Questions section here.

Are Message Boards a reliable source of information?

There are numerous well educated and knowledgable people who post regularly on the message boards. We found their guidance and advice to be very valuable when we adopted.

We encourage parents to do as much research as they can on the entire process, and to keep in mind that anonymous posters, while well meaning, do not provide you a means to verify their credibility. In all cases where you research information, keep in mind the saying regarding due diligence: ‘Consider the Source’.

Doesn’t CCAA Regulations prohibit families or agencies from contacting the orphanages directly?

You are not contacting the orphanage, nor is your agency violating their requirements to follow certain procedures, as they are not the ones requesting information from the orphanages.

To our knowledge, there are no regulations prohibiting third party contact with orphanages in China.

Someone posted a link to a CCAA Regulation that says ”4. If after receiving the materials about the child placed by CCAA the adoption applicant wants to know more about the child or get more related materials, the adoption organization should contact CCAA. It is not allowed to obtain information about the child through other channels or by other means.”

Doesnt this mean that no one is allowed to try and obtain information about our child except through our adoption agency?

What the poster failed to point out, is that this regulation is addressed to Adoption Organizations (Adoption Agencies), or as the CCAA clearly states in their regulations, “Organization Doing Adoption With China”. If the entire regulation is read in context, you will see that this entire document was directed to adoption agencies instructing them on what is allowed and what is not allowed. In this situation, it is instructing adoption agencies that they are not allowed to request information from any other entity, means or channels than the CCAA. This regulation is not addressed to third parties such as China-Babies.

You can read the entire regulation here: http://www.china-ccaa.org/site/infocontent/ZCFG_20051009071108859_en.htm . When doing so, please note that this regulation is specifically addressed to Adoption Agencies who are facilitating foreign adoption from China.

There are stories of China “intercepting” attempts made by families trying to communicate with the orphanages, that caused the CCAA to “disrupt” their adoption, thus abandoning some poor child in an orphanage because the prospective adoptive parents were not following CCAA rules.

We do not encourage families to attempt contacting orphanges on their own.

We have completed dozens of reports. In each and every case, they were done in cooperation with the Director, Staff, and Foster Family if applicable. It would in fact be impossible to accomplish this without their cooperation. Because we request pre-approval from every orphanage before we conduct any research, they are fully aware of the process and the questions we will be asking them before they agree to assist us. The Director and Staff of the SWI’s understand the Chinese adoption system as far as whats ok and whats not far better than we do, and we never proceed without their direct approval.

There is never any contact between the adoptive parents and any orphange staff, primary care givers, or foster parents.

Does using your service violate our contracts with the adoption agencies?

That is a question you will have to answer for yourself after reviewing your contract. China-Babies does not presume to know the conditions of any contract you enter into with any adoption agency, nor do we presume to tell you how to proceed regarding gathering information regarding one of the most important events of your lives. We simply offer to assist families who, like ourselves, found it difficult to get answers to questions we had. China-Babies does not condone the violation of any agreements adoptive parents enter into with their adoption agencies. We respect the work they do, and without them, none of us would be able to adopt.

Why would the CCAA be so strict about Adoption Agencies contacting SWI’s, but somehow you can?

When one reads the regulations and policies of the CCAA in full, it will become apparent the reasoning behind the regulations and policies they have created. The regulations intent address the specific concerns of inappropriate personal gain from the process of adoption of babies. The regulations address any adoption organization that would possibly benefit inappropriately as they participate in the facilitation of adoptions.

The one governing item that occurs over and over throughout the regulations posted, are that no one should be receiving incentives in order to process an adoption. The implications here are obvious, in as much as that could possibly encourage corruption in the adoption process for personal gain, and does not look after the best interest of the child.

Adoptions will occur regardless of whether China-Babies provides research services or not, and China-Babies does not ever directly benefit from whether an adoption is processed or not. The intent of the regulations are to weed out corruption and entities that would take advantage of their position to the detriment of the children, and in all cases the yardstick is to ensure that anything done in connection with international adoption is done in the best interests of the child. In this case, China-Babies is not involved in any part of the adoption process, nor do we play any official role in the process.

Do you have the approval of the CCAA?

China-babies is a private third party organization, not an adoption agency. The CCAA has numerous regulations and requirements that must be met to be involved in the facilitation of the adoption process. These policies originate from the Hague convention of 1993, and are designed to protect the rights of the children, prevent abuse of the system, and preserve the best interests of the children who are being adopted. If China-Babies intent was to facilitate adoptions, or participate in the adoption process in any offical capacity, we would have to comply with all of the regulations and requirements that Adoption Agencies and other accredited bodies must adhere to.

As we are a private entity not facilitating adoption, we are not subject to the same regulations and requirements that agencies must comply with (obviously due to the incredible responsibility entrusted to them). We do not assume to provide the services involved in facilitating an international adoption, and we are glad that fully licensed agencies perform this function.

Accredited Adoption Agencies are a valuable and necessary part of the adoption process. All we do is try to provide support to families who are seeking information, along with thousands of other organizations who are not sanctioned by the CCAA or other international bodies, but provide support services for adoptive parents.

China-Babies makes no claims to be an Adoption Agency, nor any other accredited body as per CCAA Regulations. The CCAA has publicy posted all requirements for such entities, as well as governance of appropriate procedures they must follow. To our knowledge, the CCAA has posted no regulations forbidding such activity as contacting orphanges by entities that are not officially involved in the adoption process.

We use the utmost care and diligence, always being aware of the sensitivity and privacy concerns of all parties involved, and do our best to provide what we consider to be an invaluable support service to both adoptive parents, as well as their children.

We encourage all adoptive families to become as educated on the adoption process as possible, and whenever possible to seek information from credible sources.

If you have any other questions or concerns regarding what we do, please feel free to contact us. We sincerely desire to help families who are going through what we did, and want to address any questions you may have.