China Waiting Child Program

Sunny Ridge Family Center is honored to be a part of China’s Waiting Child Program. Since May 2009, we have had access to the China Center of Adoption Affair’s (CCAA) online referral system and have been working to find families for children with special medical needs.

All of the children available are placed on one shared list by CCAA. This list of children is made available by CCAA on their secure website to any agency that has been selected to be a part of China’s Waiting Child Program. Due to the time sensitivity of this list, families have up to 72 hours to review referral information. The time frame of being matched with a child varies depending on what a family is open to accepting and could take anywhere from weeks to many months.

In order to keep the length of wait times down for referrals, our Waiting Child Program has only 20 available slots for families. As a family is matched with a child, they are removed from our list and a new family can be added. If a family’s application is received and there are no available slots, the family will be notified that they are on a waiting list.

 Children in this program will have anywhere from minor, correctable medical needs to more involved needs. They may range in age from one year of age to 13 years of age, with healthy children over the age of eight also available.  Before a family has access to a referral, they must have a completed home study, immigration approval and a dossier logged in to China. They must also complete our Medical Conditions Checklist and have researched the conditions that they are open to accepting.

China has very specific written eligibility requirements for prospective adoptive parents. Eligibility requirements for families seeking to adopt through our China Waiting Child program include:

• Couples married a minimum of two years (five years if there is a history of divorce). No more than two divorces per parent
• Applicants should be 30 to 55 years of age
• Minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent
• Minimum annual income of $30,000 + $10,000 per each child currently living in home
• Minimum net worth of $80,000
• No serious physical health diagnosis. BMI must be under 40. No significant medical condition which would impact their long-term ability to parent.
• No mental health diagnosis
• No history of drug use or dependency
• Minimal criminal history

If you have questions about the eligibility requirements, please e-mail or call the China Waiting Child Program Coordinator, Jessica Augsburger at (630) 754-4532, or Peggy Earwood, at (630) 754-4542.