This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: China has ended international adoption for non-relatives in 2024. The article should not devote such a large portion of its content to adoption procedures of Chinese orphans into the US. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2025)
Located in Beijing, the CCAA has one office that is divided into the following eight departments with specific administrative responsibilities: Administrative Office; Adopter's Eligibility Review Department; Child's Inter-Country Placement Department; Domestic Adoption Department; Child-Raising Department; Archives Management Department; Information and Technology Department; Finance Department; and General Affairs Department.[3]
Nurture of children in Social Welfare Institutions
The CCAA has announced four concrete missions with regard to its role in overseeing the welfare of children in social welfare institutions.[4] The first mission is to conduct studies and make recommendations concerning child-raising programs in such institutions. Second, the CCAA aims to promulgate standards to be implemented in social welfare institutions. The third mission is to manage the training of care-providers. Fourth, the CCAA seeks to implement advanced methods and programs in child-rearing.
Domestic adoptions
The CCAA also has four missions with regard to the handling of domestic adoptions.[4] First, the CCAA is to conduct studies aimed at furthering the development of its domestic adoption program. The second mission is to develop and implement regulations for domestic adoption. The third mission is to develop a consulting service for the program, and the fourth mission is to coordinate and develop an inter-province domestic adoption service.
Intercountry adoptions
China ratified the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption on September 16, 2005.[5] Pursuant to Article 6 of the convention, the CCAA is the Central Authority responsible for all inter-country adoptions in China.[6] As such, the CCAA has the overall responsibility for the inter-country adoption of Chinese children.[2]Chinese law governs the adoptability of Chinese children, regardless of the country where potential adopters reside.[2] Pursuant to Article 4 of the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China (Adoption Law), the following children under the age of 14 qualify for adoption: orphans; children who have been abandoned by their parents; and children whose parents are unable to care for them due to “unusual difficulties.”[7]
Adoptions must be fully completed in China, as it is not possible under Chinese law to obtain guardianship over a child for later adoption in a foreign country.[2] Adoptive parents must travel to China to finalize the adoption of a child. In the event only one parent is able to travel to China to finalize the adoption, the spouse who travels to China must bring a notarized power of attorney for the other spouse.[8] Since 2007, requirements of physical and mental fitness were imposed on those seeking to adopt children.[9]
In September 2024, China has ended its international adoption program for non-relative foreign nationals.[10]
Eight missions of the CCAA
The CCAA claims to have eight concrete missions with regard to intercountry adoptions.[4] First, the CCAA receives and reviews applications and certifying documentation from foreign persons wishing to adopt. Second, the CCAA also receives certifying documentation from persons placing children out for adoption. Pursuant to Article 5 of the Adoption Law, the following individuals are entitled to place children out for adoption: guardians of an orphan; social welfare institutions; and parents who are unable to care for their children.[7] The third mission of the CCAA is to locate and assign children who are available for adoption under the Adoption Law. Fourth, the CCAA is to follow up with the life and growth of adopted children in foreign countries. The CCAA's fifth mission is to assist other departments of the Chinese government that are involved in the adoption of Chinese children. Such departments include Child Welfare Institutes, provincial Notarial Offices responsible for issuance of the final adoption certificate, and the Public Security Bureau responsible for issuing Chinese passports and exit permits for adopted children.[2] The sixth mission is to archive all documentation for each party involved in a child's adoption, including the application for adoption, certifying documents, and materials concerning the life of the child in his or her new home. Seventh, the CCAA is to conduct any liaison, counseling, or coordination work involved with inter-country adoptions. The final stated mission of the CCAA is to handle any other matters regarding the intercountry adoption process that has not been delegated to another office or authority.
Adoption to the United States
The United States is ranked as the number one destination for children adopted abroad,[11] and since 2000, U.S. residents have adopted more children from China than any other country.[12]
China first allowed adoptions to the United States in 1991, when 61 children were issued immigrant visas.[13] Between 1991 and 2005, the number of American adoptions of Chinese children had increased tremendously, with a total of 62,906 children have been adopted by U.S. residents during that time. However, in recent years, largely as a result of adoption scandals, the number of American adoptions of Chinese children declined from a high of 7,906, in 2005, to 2,587, in 2011.[14][15][16] For years, China was deemed one of the safest countries for adoption and due to the One Child Policy there was a significant influx of abandoned children, primarily young girls in need of families.[17] There is mounting evidence that child-trafficking rings were present in China.[18] A notable case occurred in Hunan province where orphanages were reported to have bought babies from traffickers with little recorded information of their provenance, before reselling them to other orphanages or families, with many being adopted internationally.[19]
According to U.S. State Department statistics,[13] the number of immigrant visas issued to Chinese orphans per year is as follows:[20]
After the United States, Spain is the country that adopts the most children from China. In 2005, over 2,700 children were adopted by Spanish families.[23] Like the United States, families in Australia, Canada, and Spain adopt more children from China than from any other country.[24]
↑ "China Sets New Rules on Adoptions", Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2006, at 12.
↑ Pam Belluck & Jim Yardley, "China Tightens Adoption Rules for Foreigners", N.Y. Times, December 20, 2006, at A1; Bill Lohmann, "Adoption Door Closing", Richmond Times Dispatch, February 25, 2007, at G1; Anna M. Tinsley, "China May Not Allow Some People to Adopt", Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Tex.), at A10.
↑ Andrew, Anita M. (2007). "China's Abandoned Children and Transnational Adoption: Issues and Problems for U.S.-China Relations, Adoption Agencies, and Adoptive Parents". Journal of Women's History. 19 (1): 123–131. doi:10.1353/jowh.2007.0001. S2CID144280083. ProjectMUSE211693.
↑ Jessica Bernstein-Wax, "Spain’s Would-Be Parents Turn to China to Adopt", L.A. Times, March 25, 2007, at 8.
↑ Jen Vuk, "Slim Chance for Adoptive Parents", Herald Sun (Australia), January 10, 2007, at 21; Andrea Gordon, "Golden Age of Adoptions from China Fading Fast", Toronto Star, January 10, 2007, at A3; Marina Jimenez, "Obese, Disable, Disfigured or Depressed will be Ineligible to Apply for Foreign Program", The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Can.), December 20, 2006; Jessica Bernstein-Wax, "Spain’s Would-Be Parents Turn to China to Adopt", L.A. Times, March 25, 2007, at 8.
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