New Adoption Restrictions Make Getting A Child Harder For Oklahomans

About 10,000 American families adopt a child from China every year. But some of them will not be able to adopt again. It's because of some new rules that took effect May 1st, further limiting which

Friday, May 4th 2007, 5:20 pm

By: News On 6

About 10,000 American families adopt a child from China every year. But some of them will not be able to adopt again. It's because of some new rules that took effect May 1st, further limiting which parents are able to adopt from China. The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports among the rules for prospective parents a weight restriction, a ban on single parent adoptions, and a rule against people with handicaps or certain health problems.

Karen and David Szabo are 9-months into the life of their adopted daughter Piper, and now they can't imagine life without her.

"The easiest reason is the hardest to explain, we just knew our child was in China, we just knew it," said adoptive mother Karen Szabo. "Just all roads seemed to lead to China and we followed our hearts and wound up with her."

The Szabo's had to fill out a mound of paperwork and meet the qualifications, but since they adopted, the qualifications have changed.

"The regulations that we went through aren't as strict as they are now," Szabo said.

Denise Schoborg coordinates Chinese adoptions for Dillon International. She says the new restrictions cover weight, health and income of the prospective parents.

"I think another real significant change is the inability of single parents to adopt from China," said Schoborg. "China was a country that, although they had placed a very strict quota on the number of single applicants, it allowed some single parents to be able to build a family."

Schoborg says the restrictions are not out of line with some other countries, but they are significant because so many people adopt from China and now some will no longer qualify.

"The families that will be impacted are the families that have been able to adopt previously through China and had hoped to adopt a sibling from the same country, and that's a significant loss for families to be facing," Schoborg said.
The rationale for the new rules, according to Dillon International, is to cut down the number of applicants so the rest can be reviewed more quickly, and of course to make sure the best parents are getting the children.

For details on the new rules for Chinese adoptions, and those from other countries you can contact Dillon International at www.dillonadopt.com.

Watch the video: China Tightens Adoption Restrictions

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