Internet Providing Lifeline to China's Unwanted Children
DALTON TANONAKA, CNN ANCHOR, BIZASIA: Now, the Internet may not be to Singapore's liking, but it's providing a lifeline to China's unwanted children, giving the chance of a happy home. CNN's Lisa Rose Weaver has that story from Beijing.</s>LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the joys of daily life at the end of a long day that bring Wendy (ph) and her farther closer together. Their bond goes beyond blood ties, it was founded on a decision to create a family through adoption. Jim Gradoville decided to adopt in China, and more than two year ago picked up his daughter from the orphanage where she'd spent the first year of her life. Gradoville was a special case, as a single man he needed to narrow his search for an adoption agency that would accept his application. He found help on the Internet.</s>JIM GRADOVILLE, ADOPTIVE FATHER: Without the Internet I could have still done it, right. Would it have made the process a little bit tougher in terms of finding the right agency to work with and maybe find out some other information I had to get along the way.</s>WEAVER: For prospective parents to reach the end of the average year- long wait and collect their babies, there are a lot of steps to go through first: from finding an agency in the parent's home country that facilities adoption, to understanding China's regulations, there's huge demand for information on how to start the process. China's Adoption Authority has its own Web page, more than 77 thousand hits so far.</s>ELYN MACINNIS, ADOPTIVE ADVISER: There's more information... Elyn MaCinnis provides spiritual support and helps parents navigate the system.</s>MACINNIS: I got e-mails from people all across the U.S. asking me: What was it like? What were the children like? Was it safe? Mostly people who are nervous, who had been worrying about it, but when they got up on the Internet they could see it wasn't as -- adopting from China wasn't as scary as they thought it would be.</s>WEAVER (on camera): Internet guidance has also exposed understaffed and underfunded Chinese orphanages, but not in order to criticize conditions there, rather to generate outside income to improve the way Chinese orphans live. (voice-over): The basic costs of adopting, $3,000 U.S. per child, is the primary source of income for Chinese orphanages. But there are foundations and Web site dedicated to providing extras, like medical treatment and money for more staff, funds, which adoption experts say have dramatically improved the conditions inside. From 1992, when China legalized international adoptions, the numbers have more than doubled. And for Americans who want to adopt, China is now a favorite destination.</s>JANE LIEDTKE, ADOPTION EXPERT: When the China adoptions started, it was just like the Internet just sprouted at the same time, and so by comparison it was just amazing, the people had this system they wanted to put into place of giving each other support and helping each other learn about kids being from China and about China.</s>WEAVER: That Internet is no substitute for the paper work and the commitment needed to adopt, but it has brought families like this together a little faster. Lisa Rose Weaver, CNN, Beijing.