Help For Waiting Parents: China’s Special Focus Program

In 2010, China implemented a program called “Special Focus” in which waiting parents can drastically cut the waiting time for a child. Some children’s files are marked “Special Focus” if the child has more significant or multiple medical conditions than other “special needs” children and/or is older. Through the Special Focus program, an adoptive family may adopt two unrelated children simultaneously or successively with the same dossier, as long as at least one of children is a Special Focus child. In addition, families who have completed a China adoption in the last 12 months may use a copy of that dossier to adopt a Special Focus child, saving substantial time on paperwork and procedure.