China's Children's Welfare System From Top to Bottom

The Ministry of Civil Affairs

China's International adoption program is considered one of the best worldwide mainly because of the strict guidelines China follows to protect their children. The Ministry of Civil Affairs is the department of the State Council that legislates all matters of social welfare in China.

In 1979, the Chinese government implemented a one-child policy in an effort to control population growth. Unfortunately as a result it reinforced the practice of abandoning girl children, most of them newborns. Today, many provinces no longer enforce the one-child policy, but the pressure to have one child is still very present and 95% of the children abandoned are still female. This is usually because of, but not limited to the following reasons:

• Chinese society still for the most part disapproves of unwed mothers, so therefore any child born out of wedlock is liable to be abandoned; even a boy.
• Cultural and economic factors continue to influence the number of children abandoned.
• Sons are favored because they carry on the family name and are responsible for caring for their elderly parents. A campaign to promote the value of girls has now become part of an effort by the State Council and Ministry of Civil Affairs, supervised by Minister Li.

China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA)

Under the leadership of the The Ministry of Civil Affairs, implemented by the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) and with the joint efforts of civil affairs departments of different levels, the inter-country adoption work of China follows the motto of "everything for the children" sticks to the principle of execution according to law and equality and voluntariness and develops actively and reliably.

At present, China has established relations of inter-country adoption cooperation with 170 government departments and adoption agencies in 16 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. Tens of thousands of orphans and handicapped children return to families through inter-country adoption. With good care of the foreign adoptive parents, they adjust to the new environment quickly and develop very well physically and mentally. Those handicapped children receive treatment and rehabilitation timely and their legal rights are protected effectively. All these set up a good basis for their healthy growth.

These and other recent factors have combined to create the necessity for the regulation of thousands of orphanages across China. The Ministry of Civil Affairs developed laws and the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) to enforce such laws. For example the principals that follow give us some idea of the guidelinesCCAA must follow in order to facilitate the International adoption of children.

The principle that adoption should be in the interest of the healthy growth of adopted minors

This principle is not only the ultimate purpose of adoption, but also the common wish of the adopters and the people placing out the children for adoption.

The principle of equality and voluntariness

Adoption shall in conformity with the principle of equality and voluntariness, that is to say, the parties involved in the adoptive relationship is equal in the adoption process and their desire of adoption should be voluntary and true.

The principle that adoption should not be in contravention of social morality

Adoption shall be in conformity with social morality and not violate the morality which is recognized by society.

The China Center of Adoption Affairs is the central governing authority that oversees all International adoptions in China under the direct leadership of Executive Director Lu Ying. As a result of the CCAA's efforts, orphanages today are populated with healthy infants and children that can be safely adopted by good forever families worldwide.

• The CCAA has established a relatively stable procedure for working with International adoptive families and kept its International program steadily open for more than a decade. Orphanages and adoption agencies must be approved and registered with the CCAA to place Chinese orphans. The Great Wall Organization has been a licensed non-profit agency registered with the CCAA since 1996.

The CCAA follows strict guidelines as well as creates a generous paper trail in order to keep track of all orphaned children available for International adoption. In order for a baby to become "paper ready" for adoption, the baby once abandoned, must first go through a series of steps. It takes about 4-6 months for a child to become "paper ready" for International adoption.

• Medical examination: The baby is immediately taken to the hospital where a thorough examination is undergone to determine the sex, age and overall health of the child. The health of the child determines his or her placement in a social or children's welfare institute and whether or not the child is healthy enough to be adopted.
• Finding Policy: The child's picture and location of finding is placed in the newspaper and on posters in the local vicinity for three months. If no legitimate family member comes forward the child is officially put up for adoption and is therefore eligible for International adoption. Read more about Finding Ads
• In the meantime, the child is placed officially in a welfare institute and then possibly into a foster care program affiliated with that welfare institute.

Foster Care Programs under the Ministry of Civil Affairs and CCAA

The CCAA monitors the adoption process very closely to ensure that children receive adequate care while living in welfare homes (orphanages) and foster homes. Foster care is becoming more popular in China and many welfare homes turn to local foster families to care for the children. The purpose of foster care is to improve the lives of orphaned children and more and more Chinese families are applying to become foster families to give more children the opportunity to receive the benefits of foster care. To uphold strict standards the local Civil Affairs Office and the orphanage work together to supervise the orphan's health and wellbeing within the foster family setting.
The foster family is responsible for the child's overall safety, education and medication, if necessary.

The foster family is expected to:

• Protect the child's rights
• Provide suitable and age appropriate education
• Meet with teachers to monitor the child's progress
• Provide in-home education for life skills
• Provide appropriate medical care

The foster family is expected to teach the child:

• Good conduct
• Hygiene
• Independence
• Self-reliance, if appropriate

In order to be an eligible family to provide foster care:

• Applicants should be local residents. If the applicant does not live near the orphanage it is difficult for the orphanage and the local Civil Affairs Office to contact the family and supervise the orphan's well-being.
• Each fostered child must have at least 10 square meters of living space in the foster family's home.
• The foster family must have a stable income of at least 500 RMB ($62) per month per person, including the child they will foster.
• Foster family members must be healthy and free of mental disorders or communicable diseases. They have to provide proof of examination for this.
• Foster family members must have no criminal record and no record of drug or alcohol abuse. All members of the family should relate well with each other and have a good relationship with neighbors.
• The primary care-giver in the foster family must be between the ages of 30 and 65 years old. This person should be in good health and have prior childcare experience. The primary caregiver must also have at least a junior high school education.
• Foster parent applicants must provide a number of documents including:
• Identification cards
• Registry of permanent residence
• Real estate residence certificates
• Photos
• Medical forms
• Education certificates
• Income statement/s
• A personal introduction of main family members

CCAA provides training for foster families.
The orphanage provides a wide range of training for prospective foster parents:

• Baby care
• Feeding
• Daily routines and schedules

Foster families for children with special needs receive specialized training to respond to medical problems that may arise:

• Healthcare principles
• Nursing methods
• Problem-solving skills

The orphanage regularly evaluates the child and the foster family. All evaluations are intended to determine whether the child has adapted to the foster home and whether the foster family is providing appropriate care for the child. Each child is evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Physical condition
• Intellectual ability
• Emotional wellbeing
• Social development

If the CCAA or the orphanage determines that the care provided by a foster family is inappropriate or substandard, the child's foster placement can be terminated at any time. The CCAA as well as the adoptive families have found the benefits of foster care placement to be one of the latest improvements of the Children's Welfare System; invaluable for the care of orphaned children in China.