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China's Child of Promise Option

Adopt a child with Minor/Correctable Conditions
If the long wait to be matched with a child from China has you discouraged, we have an option that could cut your wait time in half.

Children of Promise
Children included in this optional process have conditions such as cleft lip and palate, hepatitis B, minor heart conditions, missing or extra digits, and skin conditions such as burns or birthmarks. They are not a part of Holt’s Waiting Child Program because we match them with families so quickly. Unlike children with “special needs,” these children usually do not have severe or life-long medical or learning needs.

To be included in the China Child of Promise Option…
you need only to fill out or update our Minor/Correctable Conditions Checklist, and send it to us along with a few other vital pieces of information. When the China Center for Adoption Affairs releases children’s information to Holt, we have a short time to match these children with families. In order to quickly identify a child who fits the profile you have outlined, we must have your most recent Minor/Correctable Conditions Checklist signed and on hand. Holt is one of a few adoption agencies the CCAA has selected for this option.

The Holt China Child of Promise Optional Process is for prospective adoptive families who have completed their application, homestudy and dossier. If you are just beginning the adoption process, please complete Holt’s adoption application.

Frank and Kelli, Nebraska
“My husband wasn't too sure because this little sweetheart had special needs—spina bifida—and we had just sent our dossier to China for a non-special needs child. Neither of us knew much about spina bifida, but Frank said I could call Holt and ask about her. ‘Try not to get your hopes up,’ he said. Too late! I was already falling in love with a little girl half way around the world.” (read more...)

Tom and Meredith, Florida
"We were in the regular China adoption process," said Tom. "But the wait times were just so long. When we heard that we could stay in the regular program and also consider a child with a healthcare need, we thought about it only briefly."

The login date for their dossier in China was October 19, 2007. The following week they notified Holt's China team they were willing to consider a child with minor/correctable needs. Six weeks later, they got Caleb's referral. (read more...)

Melanie and Mike, Oregon
“It was like God was saying that if this family was willing to adopt a child with special needs, we can too,” Melanie says. “So we prayed and had a peace about it and informed our social worker of our desires.” Within days, they found themselves matched with Grace.

“I remember initially thinking that special need meant something extreme, maybe something we couldn’t handle,” Melanie says. “After reviewing the conditions and then getting Grace and seeing the other girls’ [in our travel group] special needs, my thoughts about it changed. In my mind our girls are all functioning normally despite the circumstance that put them in the special needs category.” (read more...)