Once prospective families are ready to start their Taiwan International Adoption Process with Gladney, they will complete their adoption application to become approved by Gladney to adopt from Taiwan. Gladney provides detailed instructions for families throughout the adoption process. Your adoption will progress through the following stages:

• Attend Info Session and Orientation
• Submit Gladney Application Documents
• Attend Pathways Training at Gladney Center Office
• Undergo Adoption Home Study
• File for USCIS Immigration Approval
• Transmit Preliminary Family Information to Taiwan
• Proceed with Child Matching and Referral
• Assemble Adoption Dossier
• Undergo Court Adjudication Process
• Complete Adoption processing and Final Travel

Gladney Application The first step in the adoption process is to complete your Gladney Application. This involves completing various paperwork, including background clearances and reference letters. Once this paperwork has been sent to your case worker, you will begin your Home Study and start working on your Immigration Approval.

Adoption Home Study Your family’s Home Study or Home Study Assessment must be completed by a Hague Accredited Agency providing home study services. If your family lives in a state that Gladney is licensed in, Gladney will perform your Adoption Home Study Assessment. The home study process is comprised of interviews and discussions with a social worker, a safety inspection and tour of your home, medical/health assessment, background and child abuse clearances, financial assessment, and a minimum of 10 hours of Hague educational training. In addition, some states have additional requirements that must be met. Families must meet and abide by Federal and State rules regulations to receive home study approval.

Immigration Approval Once your family’s home study is complete, you will apply for approval to immigrate a foreign-born child into the United States. You will complete USCIS Form I-600A for submission to the USCIS along with your home study and supporting documentation. You will make a second USCIS filing on Form I-600 after you have been matched with a child and have received the child’s official referral paperwork.

Preliminary Packet While your family is completing your home study, you will also begin to work towards completion of a preliminary packet of information for Cathwel and/or Chung Yi. The packet includes the home study report, family photo album, “Dear Birth Parent” letter, and application. Based on this information Cathwel and/or Chung Yi will be making a determination of your suitability for their adoption program. Once your preliminary packet is submitted, you may request to view the adoption files of waiting children.

Child Matching and Referral Information  Many parents in the Taiwan program would like to seek to match with a waiting child after reviewing their adoption file. In this case, Gladney will notify Taiwan that you are interested in being considered as the child’s adoptive parents. If you are chosen as the matched family by the Taiwanese matching committee, you will be notified and proceed with the next steps. In other situations, Gladney may notify you of a potential child referral and at that time you will receive and review the child’s adoption file. (Note that one of our partner organizations will provide a picture of the child only after the parents accept the referral. Upon acceptance of a referral, you will complete dossier and legal documents in order for the adoption process to progress through the Taiwan court system.

Dossier Once you have compiled and notarized the adoption legal and dossier documents needed, Gladney will proceed with acquiring U.S. government authentication and translation. This takes several weeks. Once your dossier is translated, it will be mailed to your child’s welfare foundation that will then submit the dossier along with your child’s legal documents to court.

Court Process The Taiwan court process consists of one court hearing and two court rulings in which biological parental rights are terminated, and you and your spouse become the child’s legal parents through adoption. The court process takes approximately 6 months to complete. Parents will be requested to travel to Taiwan during the court process for a child bonding and observation period and to testify in court. After the final court ruling is issued, you will be invited to travel to meet and take placement of your child. It is at the discretion of the judge presiding over each adoption case to require that adoptive parents be present for bonding periods and/or the court hearing.

Travel Upon notice that the child’s court process has been completed, families are notified about official travel dates. Families typically travel 5 weeks after the final ruling is issued by the court.

Gladney staff is committed to assisting families interested in adopting from Taiwan. To learn more about adopting from Taiwan, please request one of Gladney's free, comprehensive Adoption Information Packets. Make your request on-line or by calling 817-813-6641 or email.