New Business / January 2006
From China with Love
The Reynolds Family |
By Pat Lawrence
Deborah Reynolds started planning for parenthood as a little girl. “I always wanted to be a mom,” she says. Only one detail was keeping her from motherhood. “I still hadn’t found Mr. Right.” So at thirty five, she decided to adopt a child.
According to Deborah, “There’s a waiting list of five years for newborn Caucasian infants. Birth parents often choose the adoptive parents, and generally prefer married couples.” Deborah had a friend who had adopted a Chinese baby so researched Chinese adoption and contacted an international agency out of Colorado since there weren’t any in West Virginia. Following a dossier guide, she completed all the necessary documents, answering questions about her income, why she wanted to adopt a Chinese child, what kind of home environment she would provide and promising to treat the child as her own. A home study agency visited to determine there was sufficient room for the child. Deborah says, “You don’t have to own your own home, and children can share a room.” The completed documents were notarized and certified by the WV Secretary of State and accredited by the U.S State Department and the Chinese Consulate.
Although she could have mailed her petition, Deborah went in person to Washington DC. “It only took fifteen minutes at the State Department. The Chinese Consulate took about a week.” In October of 1999, her documentation was officially logged in. In June, 2000 she received the phone call with news that a healthy, nine month old baby girl had been chosen for her. Deborah packed her things, and flew to China to meet her daughter.
It was the beginning of a new life, in more ways than Deborah had anticipated.
All aspects of Chinese adoption, including costs and the referral process, are regulated by the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) in Beijing. There’s no independent adoption from China; American adopters work through a U.S. adoption agency approved by the CCAA. It takes 6-8 months to complete the process. In fiscal 2004, Americans adopted 6859 children from China; 95% of them were girls and over half were under a year old.
Because of their burgeoning population, China has a national policy of one child per family. Although there are exceptions to the policy, many families abandon girl babies to orphanages so parents can try for a male child. Some have experienced a second, unplanned pregnancy.
Deborah was delighted with the prospect of a daughter.
Adoptive parents must go to China for 10-14 days to arrange the child’s passport and adoption registration but, Deborah says, “The adoption is finalized within 24 hours. And since all the eligible children are legally resident in a Chinese welfare institute, you don’t have to worry about any dispute later with birth parents.”
Deborah named her daughter Kelsey. In January 2004, she made a second trip to China to bring home another daughter, Amelia. Each adoption cost about $15,000 including travel expenses and home studies. Deborah couldn’t have been happier- except for one dilemma.
“I had the opportunity to see Amelia’s orphanage. I left with my heart breaking, knowing there were 400 children there who would never find homes. I began evaluating my life and what was important to me.” A bank manager with a degree in economics, an MBA and twenty years in banking, Deborah says, “I realized I had to do something different, something to help.”
In May of 2005, Deborah left her job to start Adoptive Family Services, a non-profit agency specializing in international adoptions. She helps individuals and couples with their dossiers and paperwork, performs home studies, pre-adoption and post-adoption and guides anxious petitioners through the process. She also holds monthly seminars on adopting.
Deborah works with adoptions from other countries, but Chinese adoptions are her specialty. She says, “Russia requires two visits to complete an adoption and the stay can be 20 to 40 days.” Speaking from experience, she says, “It definitely matters which agency you choose. Although all agencies must be non profit, 501 3(C) to do international adoptions, they vary greatly in their fees.”
Her clients include younger couples who have faced infertility, older couples and singles, often frustrated by waiting lists and legal wrangling. Kathy Beckett, a Charleston attorney, says she and her husband benefited from Deborah’s positive experiences and encouragement. Kathy says, “We wanted a daughter and in China, they are just throwing baby girls away.”
Deborah’s daughters are six and three now. “Kelsey is petite. Amelia is not!” They share a room, play together and argue, like all sisters. Both girls were American citizens before they left China, but the family celebrates Chinese holidays and displays Chinese artifacts. It is recognition of their heritage, and for Deborah, a reminder of “the wonderful trips to China.”
For more information, call 877-661-4039 or visit www.adoptivefamilyservices.org.
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