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Taiwan adoption regulations: Who's is Who's?

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: The articles of law relating to adoption in Taiwan are found in the Civil Code (Family and Children Welfare Act in Book VI), Articles 1072 through 1083.

The adopting parents must be at least twenty years older than the child(ren) to be adopted.

No child adopted may be:
1. Directly related by blood;
2. Directly related by marriage, except in the adoption of the other spouse’s child as a stepchild; and
3. Indirectly related by blood, such as cousins (unless removed by a certain degree), the spouse of a sibling, or a sibling of your spouse. (Taiwan law is very detailed about what degree of indirect blood relation is excluded from adoption. If prospective adoptive parents are concerned about possible blood ties with the child they wish to adopt, they should contact AIT for clarification before proceeding with the adoption.)

Taiwanese regulations further stipulate that adopting parents must be adults not older than 55 years of age. A married person who adopts a child shall do so jointly with his/her spouse.

Other program regulations are put in place wither by the orphanage or the adoption agency. Some of these rules are more like suggestions that can be overturned, but waivers are becoming more and more rare as the demand to adopt from Taiwan increases. Many adoptive families have voiced that some adoption agency representatives will misrepresent orphanage or agency regulations and call them country specific when they are not. If one agency’s Taiwan adoption program does not fit for your family, you can look elsewhere and find another program that is right for you.

Orphanage regulations: (divided by orphanage Title to visit the orphanage's

site please click on it's name. The following orphanages are the "main publicly placing orphanages in Taiwan)

CATHWEL

Criteria for Prospective Adoptive Parents

* The adoptive parents must be at least twenty years
older than the adoptee.
* Where a married person adopts a child, he/she must
do so jointly with his/her spouse.
* Our organization requires the applicants to be under
45 years old and to be married at least five years.
* Preference is given to CHILDLESS couples.
* A letter addresses to prospective birthmother should
be attached with home study.
* Please keep in touch with Cathwel once in a while before
you are offered a proposal. So we are sure that you still have
interest in working with us.

ST. LUCY CENTER

The Qualifications of adoptive parents :

* The adoptive parents must be at least twenty years
older than the adoptee.
* The applicants must be under 50 years old.
* The applicants must be married at least five years

CHUNG YI

Requirements changing frequently. Contact an angecy that works with Chung Yi for details.

The following are homes, or resources that act independently of

U.S. placing agencies, therefore allowing for independent adoption.

They are Church driven and supported.

HOME OF GOD'S LOVE

1. We pray concerning the placement of each child, and ask
prospective parents to do the same, seeking God’s direction in
placing just the right child in their home.
2. Both parents must be active Christians and must provide
5 references attesting to their
Christian maturity and suitability for parenthood. We do not
adopt to single parents, although
we have helped some, (who locate their own child), with their
paperwork and childcare during
processing.
3. Priority goes to couples who cannot bear their own children
and due to this waiting list,
families with children of their own would be advised to seek
adoption through other agencies.
4. We tend to place children with couples who have no other
children but weigh each situation
and child – seeking the Lord’s guidance.
5. We prefer to adopt to Chinese families. We feel both parents
and child will have a better
adjustment. However, due to the scarcity of childless Chinese
Christian couples, most of our
children have gone abroad.

Morning Light (applying for registration in Taiwan,
not yet an orphanage and NOT ACCEPTING APPS AT THIS
TIME)

Here at MLC, we are not an organization directly looking for kids
to adopt out. We do have
though, connections through the agencies here that contact when
a child is available. We do
not necessarily have the child/children in our home, but they are
in a foster home or in a
children's home here in Taiwan.
Our first priority at MLC is to place children in an evangelical
Christian home. As Christians
ourselves, we do not feel we can allow a child to go into a home
of an unbeliever. We do have
people ask us about infants, toddlers and older children. We can
search for the child they want,
but not necessarily find one right away.

Agency Regs that may be claimed as orphanage or country

and they are not:
Must not have a Body Mass Index over 30 or 40%
Cannot choose sex of child to be adopted.
Cannot add to your family if you have X amount of children.
Must wait until child in your home is X months or years old.
Cannot adopt from Taiwan unless you are XXX religion.

US Immigrant Visas Issued to Taiwanese Orphans

*NOTE: All statistics given correspond with the U.S. Government fiscal year, which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. For example: Adoption statistics for 2008 = Number of adoptions from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008.

2008 - 267
2007 - 184
2006 - 187
2005 - 141
2003 - 107
1991 - 54
1990 - 66

source: http://adoption.state.gov

Abbreviations Helpful when reading about Taiwan Adoption

On some of the forums or groups you may join, exists a Taiwan adoption-specific lingo.  This little "cheat sheet" will certainly improve your learning curve!

SLC: St. Lucy Center, an orphanage in Taiwan

CY: (sometimes used) abbrev. for Chung Yi, an orphanage in taiwan

FFC: Families for Children, a U.S. agency based out of Utah that's Taiwan division is now named For Every Child

FEC: For Every Child, a U.S. based agency formerly referred to as Families for Children

JOH: Journeys of the Heart, a US agency

HAI: Heartsent Adoption, Inc., a US based agency

hs: often used for homestudy

sw: social worker

bm: birthmother

NT$: New Taiwan Dollar

PAP: prospective adoptive parent

AP: adoptive parent

AIT: American Institute in Taiwan (like a consulate)

CSS: Christian Salvation Service

CAI: Commonwealth Adoptions International

TWCA: Taiwan Women's and Children's Association

TECO: Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office, regional offices that handle Taiwan affairs here in the US, like an embassy or consulate.  Upon accepting a referral, you'll send paperwork here for authentication.