Shorter Wait Time?

My husband and I finally got our referral for a baby boy after almost 2 years wait. The referrals from Taiwan ahve fallen off sharply due to new laws in Taiwan. We had originally wanted a girl but we are very happy to receive our referral of a boy. In Taiwan there are more boys than girls for adoption. Good luck!

Taiwan is a very small country, and rather prosperous. As a result, there are not all that many births, and there are few babies placed for adoption. And with increasing prosperity and Westernization has come an increasing willingness of Taiwanese families to adopt children who are "not of their blood." It used to be that few foreigners knew about Taiwan and the fact that it permitted international adoption for children who could not stay with their birth families and could not be placed domestically. As a result, the few Americans who "discovered" the program could adopt a young baby very quickly, as there were more babies available than there were families waiting to adopt them. That is definitely not the case any longer. In the past decade or so, there has been growing awareness in the English speaking world and Western Europe of the possibility of adopting internationally, which led to the creation of many adoption programs working with Taiwan. And then, more recently, there was another phenomenon. Starting in the early 1990s, adoption from mainland China had become hugely popular, because of the possibility of adopting relatively healthy young babies, in an ethical and organized manner, very quickly. But as China began to impose tough new restrictions on adoptive families, over time, quite a few people learned that they were no longer eligible to adopt there. And as growing prosperity and Westernization reduced the number of child abandonments and increased Chinese families' willingness to adopt, the number of children available for adoption decreased sharply, making wait times increase sharply. Today, the wait for the "healthy infant and toddler" program is up to something like four or five years, although it is still possible to adopt an older child or a child with special needs more quickly. All these people who dreamed of a Chinese baby, but who were ruled ineligible or who did not want to wait five years for a referral suddenly realized that there was another country that also had Chinese babies to adopt -- Taiwan. Today, there are far, far more people who want to adopt from Taiwan than there are Taiwanese babies available for adoption. And this is even more true for families that want to request a girl. Most Westerners apply for girls, for a variety of reasons, so the likelihood of finding a healthy baby girl to adopt, in anything like a moderate time frame, is fairly slim. Many American agencies have closed their Taiwan programs to new applicants, simply to avoid the development of long wait times, similar to China's. And most American agencies no longer allow gender choice, except sometimes in the case of families who already have children of the opposite gender. While I would urge you to contact all of the agencies in the U.S., to see which ones are accepting new applicants with your qualifications, be aware that it may be difficult to find a program. Taiwan also allows independent adoption, but people trying to do independent adoptions are also having problems, because they use the same orphanages as the agencies. They may even have a disadvantage, as most orphanages prefer to work with agencies that know the process, vet families carefully, and provide financial support to help children who will never get adopted. And, unfortunately, some independents have discovered that there are risks; they have tried to use orphanages that are not certified by the Taiwanese government for international adoption, and they have used unsavory in-country facilitators. Even if these people have actually taken custody of a child, they usually learn that the U.S. government will not grant a visa to a child whose adoption was irregular and not acceptable to the Taiwanese government. All in all, I think that anyone at an agency that talks glibly about short waits for young, healthy babies should be checked out very carefully. You may be lucky, and find an agency that truly can offer you the chance to adopt a healthy baby girl. But be very cautious and ask a lot of questions. It's generally not that easy. Sharon

My dd is from Taiwan. But she was 5 when she came home. However, I stay current with many people in the process of Taiwan adoption. I have heard of quick referrals. I am always amazed, because the norm is a wait of around up to 2 years. Actually some people wait longer. I think it all has to do with the agency and the orphange that they work with. A lot of people seem to get on wait lists to even send their paperwork to Taiwan. Every program is so different you really need to do your research. Try the Taiwan Adoption groups on Yahoo. There are a lot of people on those boards that can give you specific agency feedback.

Hi PositiveZ-My husband and I are currently looking into adopting an infant girl from Taiwan. I saw your post and was wondering how far along in the process you are by now? Any tips or suggestions as we get started? What agency did you use? Thanks!!

My apologies! I meant to take this post down a while ago, as we decided to switch our focus to Russia instead. We are currently in the waiting stage for a referral for two siblings under the age of 4. Good luck to you, Amy! And congrats on the start of this wonderful journey! It's A LOT of paperwork, but just take it one step at a time, and it does get done. It will be so worth it in the end!!!!