A 4-year-old Tacoma boy is at the heart of how the world’s most populous country loosened adoption restrictions to find homes for some of its smallest citizens.
Meet Isaac White, a sweet, energetic kid, who knows his colors, letters, numbers and shapes, and loves to sing.
Desiree White adopted him from China when he was a baby.
Today, thanks in part to successes such as Isaac, more than 200 children with the condition are ready to be adopted from China.
White, a family nurse practitioner, was a pediatric trauma nurse when she sought to adopt. She had had what she calls “remarkable experiences” with her Down syndrome patients, and wanted to open her home to such a child.
White was looking to adopt internationally, where she saw the greatest need for children with Down syndrome searching for homes.
When she told Michigan-based Bethany Christian Services she was looking for a child with Down syndrome, the staff member on the phone went quiet for a moment.
It was not a request the adoption agency heard often.
McGinnis said China made more children with Down syndrome available after seeing the success Isaac was having.
Bethany got 14 additional Down syndrome children in 2013, and another 31 since then, as part of what the agency calls the Bamboo Project. Fifteen of those children have found homes in the United States.
A 4-year-old Tacoma boy is at the heart of how the world’s most populous country loosened adoption restrictions to find homes for some of its smallest citizens.
