International Adoption: Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Gladney Center for Adoption
Wednesday, 10 February 1999

Fort Worth, Texas - Looking for that special little girl? The Gladney Center for Adoption can help you find her.

Through its broad-based international adoption program, Gladney is committed to finding homes for Chinese little girls. Many healthy bright-eyed, beautiful girls are anxiously awaiting you.

But, why girls? Here's the immediate answer: many families, especially in rural areas, have abandoned girls in hopes of having a boy. To delve deeper into the question, however, the answer lies within the political, social, economic and cultural aspects of Chinese society. "Because of its large population, the Chinese government implements a 'one child one family policy.' As a result, boys are preferred over girls since males normally support their families. Males also carry on the family line. Although 95 percent of the adoptees are girls, some boys do await families," says Gladney's China Program Manager Gongzhan Wu.

To adopt a healthy infant from China, prospective adoptive couples need to be between the ages of 35 and 45 and need to be childless. Single parents who meet these criteria may also adopt.

If a family doesn't meet these qualifications, there's still much hope. "Applicants who already have children, including children from a previous marriage, will be considered to adopt a child with minor correctable medical disabilities. Even those applicants who are around 50 are still eligible to adopt toddlers 2 years old and older," Wu says. Gladney parents Ann and Jeffrey Keisler are examples. They remember their first steps into the realm of international adoption. After several years of trying to have a "birth baby," Anne gave up. "I knew that one more miscarriage would do me in emotionally. I had given up hope for my very own daughter when a long-time friend suggested The Gladney Center. I knew nothing of international adoption then. There were no international agencies in our hometown -- only the assurances that at ages 40 and 42 we were too old for the system and that it could be a fruitless, interminable wait for an infant," she says.

She soon began her "paperwork shuffle." First, came the approval process and then the wait for international referral. Three months later, she and her husband were blessed with Libby/Tang Shen Bu the "prettiest little girl in all of China." Because of the popularity of the Chinese program, the waiting period is now 8 to 10 months once all paperwork is submitted to China. Until recently, many families waited for more than a year. "I learned from a recent trip to Beijing that the Chinese officials set a six month processing period as a goal. This is certainly good news for anyone who is interested in Gladney's Chinese Adoption Program," Wu says.

Unlike other countries, China has an "adoption law" and a central adoption authority known as the China Center of Adoption Affairs. It governs all adoption affairs and determines the eligibility of both adoptees and adoptive parents. (Last May, Chinese delegates visited the United States. The Gladney Center coordinated and hosted their visit to the east coast area.) The law provides a legal framework for both domestic and inter-country adoption. "When comparing the Chinese adoption process to others, it's better structured and more predictable . . . almost crystal-clear," Wu says. Recognizing that the needs of adoptive parents vary, Gladney offers broad-based international and domestic adoption programs. In addition to placing children in foreign countries, Gladney has been finding permanent families for children born in the United States for 111 years. The agency introduced its international adoption program in 1992. Today, adoption opportunities are available in several foreign countries including China, Guatemala, Russia and Vietnam.

Based in Fort Worth, Texas since its inception in 1887, The Gladney Center has placed more than 24,000 children (internationally and domestically) in forever homes and served more then 36,000 birth mothers. The agency also maintains the largest, most comprehensive maternity home in the United States. It operates eight regional offices to better serve clients. These offices are located in Dallas, Midland and Houston, Texas; Oklahoma City, OK; Little Rock, AR; Lawrence, KS; Charlotte, NC; and New York, NY.

For information about Gladney's international programs or domestic adoption, prospective adoptive parents can telephone Gladney at 1-800-INT-ADOP (800-687-3097).

For more information, or to contact Gladney Center for Adoption, see their website at: www.ednagladney.org