Concurrent adoptions ~ NSN and SN

This is an excerpt from an agency's newsletter. It's fantastic news for anyone frustrated by the ever-increasing wait times for a NSN referral...

Dear families,

Many of you have inquired about adopting a child from China and due to the lengthy wait time frames, have been hesitant to begin. As the wait time continues to increase for a healthy child, we has received confirmation from the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) that families can adopt simultaneously a healthy and special needs child.

Currently, the wait to receive a healthy child referral is three to four years. In contrast, a special needs adoption takes five to seven months. If time frames continue as they have been, families can complete a special needs adoption and still comply with the CCAA's strict guidelines of having 12 months between both adoptions.

What does this mean? If you are interested in bringing home two beautiful children from China, you can do so by submitting two dossier's to China, one for a healthy referral and two to three months later, submit a second dossier for a special needs child.

A few things to keep in mind:

1. You must be open to adopting a child with a special need or older

2. Open to adopting a boy or girl (placement of a boy will ensure a referral sooner)

3. Must meet China's requirement of 12 months between bringing children home

If you are interested in concurrent China adoptions, please note that they will be treated as two separate adoptions, which means you will pay the full fees and will complete new contracts and paperwork for both adoptions. There are no discounts for concurrent adoptions or special needs children.