Some common questions:
1. What fees do you have for adoptions? Many agencies you go with can cost $15,000US+ which is outrageous. Recently, as of December 1, 2007, through advice and prayer, our new policy is that AFTER a child and family are matched and court process begins, a minimum of $500US donation is given to the home to further our goal of helping children in Taiwan. We will discuss this with the family when they ask and do not require a one lump sum. A form for where the donation would like to go (building/land, clothing, food,etc) is available. All donations sent are tax deductible.
2. What are the costs? the basic costs we have calculated are roughly $6000US. That includes, homestudy (which can range from $350-$1250+ depending on who YOU find to do it), visas, immigration costs, translation costs, court costs here, interviews adn airplane/lodging. The latter can range cost approximately $1200US roundtrip per/person. Please check into laws about tax deduction for adoptions.
3. What about translations? there is a company here that will help us with translations. The average length of a homestudy is 10 pages long. That will take 3 days to translate and roughly $150-$175US (depending on the exchange rate at the time). There are a few other documents that need to be translated as well, the costs depend on the length.
4. How do we get the child home? We do not have carriers, someone going to and from Taiwan and the USA. We prefer that the parents, or family, or at least one parent is able to come and personally take the child home. It's a long trip back and forth. The costs of transporation and lodging are something the family pays for. We can set up places for lodging, and plane tickets are your responsibility. The average cost for a round trip ticket is $1200US.
5. What can we know about the child ahead of time? We can send you all the information we know and pictures. We are up front with the families and do not hide anything.
6. What ages and needs are there for adoption in Taiwan? There are more boys available than girls in Taiwan. There are more special needs (mainly drug babies and those with fetal alcohol syndrome) available. There are more older children than infants, but infants are available as well. We DO NOT have an inventory of children. The parents wishing to adopt are on a waiting list and we will contact them.
The Adopting Process from Taiwan
When a child becomes available for adoption, whether through abandonment, desertion, death of parent (s), or from an unwed mother situation, we follow these procedures:
1. Make sure the child’s guardian(s) has relinquished rights to process an overseas adoption.
2. After praying about the matter, we notify a suitable family on our waiting list.
(There are some other things in this process, not all are written here. We felt that it looked very overwhelming and really scary to people to put down every issue. This is the basic process, but we do take you step by step and follow all letters of the law to ensure there are no snags. )
*****remember.....the normal wait from start to finish AFTER matching a child is 6-9 months******
Somethings for families waiting for adoption:
1. Begin a homestudy suitable for international adoptions. We do not have contacts within the USA, so the family is solely responsible for this. Cases we have done, the families have spent anywhere from $350US to $1250US for a homestudy. Research tells us that the homestudies are good for 18months.
AFTER the homestudy is complete, a translation is necessary. Here in Taiwan, there is an office that will translate for us at a cheaper rate. For a 10 page homestudy to be translated, it has cost aprroximately $170US.
---you will need a pictorial of your house (inside and out, rooms, especially bedroom for kids), you and spouse (and other kids in the family) as well as other family members (grandparents or aunts and uncles)....this will give the courts/judges/social workers here an idea of the family since they can't go and visit.
2. We help in preparing power of attorney, English and Chinese. Power of attorney is given to us so we are able to represent you in court as well as fill out any necessary papers related to adoption.
3. The homestudy, power of attorney and contracts here (in Chinese) will need to be stamped by the local TECO (Taiwan representative office in the USA)
4. Begin process for a I600A via US immigration services. Only apply for an I600A, once approved they will send a notice to offices here in Taiwan. This process can take up to one month. IF by the time all is done and you are ready to come pick up the child, but the I600A is not completed, you cannot pick up the child.
AFTER all the above is done, and here to us, we then register for a court date. This can take anywhere from 2-4weeks for waiting for a date, then 4-6weeks waiting for the decision papers.
A WORD OF CAUTION: The adoptive parents should copy all legal papers and keep on hand in case something is lost or the papers are needed for future reference.
The T family with their princess....went home on Chinese New Year Eve 2007