Thursday, May 21, 2009: China Adoption Program Update: General and SN
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Traditional/Non-identified special needs/Healthy China Adoption Program Update
CCAA's portal this morning announced referrals matched through March 14, 2006. This is HUGE progress!!! The batch of referrals that we just received today includes 6 days of LID's.
We just received 8 referrals for Bethany families with March 9 and March 14 2006 LID’s (CCAA's last referral matching included March 8, 2006 LID's). Congratulations to these families who will "meet their child on paper" tomorrow!!! These families have waited for 37-38 months. CCAA has confirmed the review of dossiers through April 30, 2007 (no change). Our next March LID's are March 24, 06 and March 28, 06. We are also awaiting expedited referrals (Chinese heritage) for families with LID’s through April 30, 2007. Despite the rumors, H1N1 has not affected the shipping of referrals, but rather the delay was due to CCAA being closed the first week in May for the International Holiday. We also continue to receive other packages from CCAA containing LOA’s and Travel Invitations for our families. Despite the rumors, international shipping has not ceased.
We currently have families in China completing their adoptions. We also have another travel group (SN) confirmed to depart in mid-June for: Beijing, Hunan, Jiangxi Shandong, Chongqing and Sichuan Provinces.
Bethany Christian Services currently has approximately 500 dossiers LID at the CCAA with LID’s between March 2006 and the present. The majority of the dossiers are LID between March 2006 and April 30, 2007, when the new guidelines went into effect. Since then, the number of dossiers submitted has declined significantly. Although no one can predict the future wait times, this “bottle-neck” effect will likely to continue until we get through dossiers LID in April 2007. In the meanwhile, CCAA continues to process accordingly. We can report:
1. We continue to see families withdraw their dossiers, minimizing dossier LID group sizes.
2. We also continue to see families accept SN referrals, minimizing dossier LID group sizes.
LID groups continue to shrink in size. Agencies around the world report similar findings.
-I-600 families should continue to maintain and renew their USCIS approvals for the full extent of the 72 months allowed. Families can file once, extend with the free renewal, file a second I-600A and then file the second renewal. All of this must occur without the expiration of the approval notice. This entire approval process allows for the adoption up to 72 months.
-I-800 families are required additional paperwork between referral and travel and we’ve noticed that travel can take a little longer due to this processing.
We empathize with families in this adoption program. When you first began the process, the wait time for a referral was approximately 12 months long. Now, three years later… you continue to wait, prayerfully and faithfully. Growing your families through adoption is certainly a leap of faith and we recognize that families have to update paperwork, pay additional fees, work their lives around unknown timeframes and mostly, yearn for the child they’ve been dreaming about. Please know that we pray for your hearts during this adoption journey and appreciate your commitment to the orphaned children in China.
China SN Program Update and Statistics
These numbers are approximate and can change daily. The numbers change when new families submit their paperwork to join the program, when families are matched with a referral or when families withdraw from the program.
As of this afternoon, there are 69 families (two-parent and single applicants) in the SN program.
30 have a LID in 2006
23 have a LID in 2007
8 have a LID in 2008
8 have a LID in 2009
Of the 69 families, 56 families are hoping for a female referral under the age of four with minor/correctible special needs (boxes checked within the first column of the COP Form). The other 13 families are open to male referrals, female referrals over the age of four years old, or female referrals with more moderate/severe special needs (second or third columns of the COP Form).
To date, we’ve matched approximately 100 referrals via the CCAA portal. The referrals have ranged from 8 months old to 14 years old, boys and girls, but the majority of the referrals are under three years old with minor/correctible special needs. We have families that have been in the program since it’s inception in August 08, we have families that have turned down referrals (sometimes multiple), we have families that have “lost” referrals (the child has become unadoptable or new information was more severe than initially anticipated) and we have families who are matched within hours or days of submitting their paperwork.
When the SN referrals are presented on the CCAA portal, some require a family to have a dossier LID while others do not. Bethany Christian Services and the CCAA require a family to have an approved home study to match a referral to a family, while The Hague Convention requires USCIS (I-171H or I-797) approval prior to officially accept a referral matching. When there is a referral that can be matched to multiple families, The China Team takes great care in prayerfully determining which family is appropriate. We review the personal letters that families compose, we review the home study and dossier carefully, we consult with your social worker, previous experience with the particular special need, and we review your local medical resources, to name a few subjective factors. Beyond these subjective factors, we also must take into consideration objective factors such as your LID, how long you’ve been in the SN program, and if you’ve been considered for previous referrals. Oftentimes, but not always, a family with a dossier through the review room may have a faster paperwork process at CCAA. Other times, the child’s Province or orphanage may influence the expediency of the CCAA paperwork process and timing. It is difficult to predict time frames for SN adoption as they can vary from case to case. We’ve also noticed that I-800 Hague families take a little longer for travel clearance with a few extra paperwork processing steps involved.
We will do our best to utilize this China Blog to provide updated information and communication like this on a regular basis.
The China Team wishes you a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Bookmark :
Traditional/Non-identified special needs/Healthy China Adoption Program Update
CCAA's portal this morning announced referrals matched through March 14, 2006. This is HUGE progress!!! The batch of referrals that we just received today includes 6 days of LID's.
We just received 8 referrals for Bethany families with March 9 and March 14 2006 LID’s (CCAA's last referral matching included March 8, 2006 LID's). Congratulations to these families who will "meet their child on paper" tomorrow!!! These families have waited for 37-38 months. CCAA has confirmed the review of dossiers through April 30, 2007 (no change). Our next March LID's are March 24, 06 and March 28, 06. We are also awaiting expedited referrals (Chinese heritage) for families with LID’s through April 30, 2007. Despite the rumors, H1N1 has not affected the shipping of referrals, but rather the delay was due to CCAA being closed the first week in May for the International Holiday. We also continue to receive other packages from CCAA containing LOA’s and Travel Invitations for our families. Despite the rumors, international shipping has not ceased.
We currently have families in China completing their adoptions. We also have another travel group (SN) confirmed to depart in mid-June for: Beijing, Hunan, Jiangxi Shandong, Chongqing and Sichuan Provinces.
Bethany Christian Services currently has approximately 500 dossiers LID at the CCAA with LID’s between March 2006 and the present. The majority of the dossiers are LID between March 2006 and April 30, 2007, when the new guidelines went into effect. Since then, the number of dossiers submitted has declined significantly. Although no one can predict the future wait times, this “bottle-neck” effect will likely to continue until we get through dossiers LID in April 2007. In the meanwhile, CCAA continues to process accordingly. We can report:
1. We continue to see families withdraw their dossiers, minimizing dossier LID group sizes.
2. We also continue to see families accept SN referrals, minimizing dossier LID group sizes.
LID groups continue to shrink in size. Agencies around the world report similar findings.
-I-600 families should continue to maintain and renew their USCIS approvals for the full extent of the 72 months allowed. Families can file once, extend with the free renewal, file a second I-600A and then file the second renewal. All of this must occur without the expiration of the approval notice. This entire approval process allows for the adoption up to 72 months.
-I-800 families are required additional paperwork between referral and travel and we’ve noticed that travel can take a little longer due to this processing.
We empathize with families in this adoption program. When you first began the process, the wait time for a referral was approximately 12 months long. Now, three years later… you continue to wait, prayerfully and faithfully. Growing your families through adoption is certainly a leap of faith and we recognize that families have to update paperwork, pay additional fees, work their lives around unknown timeframes and mostly, yearn for the child they’ve been dreaming about. Please know that we pray for your hearts during this adoption journey and appreciate your commitment to the orphaned children in China.
China SN Program Update and Statistics
These numbers are approximate and can change daily. The numbers change when new families submit their paperwork to join the program, when families are matched with a referral or when families withdraw from the program.
As of this afternoon, there are 69 families (two-parent and single applicants) in the SN program.
30 have a LID in 2006
23 have a LID in 2007
8 have a LID in 2008
8 have a LID in 2009
Of the 69 families, 56 families are hoping for a female referral under the age of four with minor/correctible special needs (boxes checked within the first column of the COP Form). The other 13 families are open to male referrals, female referrals over the age of four years old, or female referrals with more moderate/severe special needs (second or third columns of the COP Form).
To date, we’ve matched approximately 100 referrals via the CCAA portal. The referrals have ranged from 8 months old to 14 years old, boys and girls, but the majority of the referrals are under three years old with minor/correctible special needs. We have families that have been in the program since it’s inception in August 08, we have families that have turned down referrals (sometimes multiple), we have families that have “lost” referrals (the child has become unadoptable or new information was more severe than initially anticipated) and we have families who are matched within hours or days of submitting their paperwork.
When the SN referrals are presented on the CCAA portal, some require a family to have a dossier LID while others do not. Bethany Christian Services and the CCAA require a family to have an approved home study to match a referral to a family, while The Hague Convention requires USCIS (I-171H or I-797) approval prior to officially accept a referral matching. When there is a referral that can be matched to multiple families, The China Team takes great care in prayerfully determining which family is appropriate. We review the personal letters that families compose, we review the home study and dossier carefully, we consult with your social worker, previous experience with the particular special need, and we review your local medical resources, to name a few subjective factors. Beyond these subjective factors, we also must take into consideration objective factors such as your LID, how long you’ve been in the SN program, and if you’ve been considered for previous referrals. Oftentimes, but not always, a family with a dossier through the review room may have a faster paperwork process at CCAA. Other times, the child’s Province or orphanage may influence the expediency of the CCAA paperwork process and timing. It is difficult to predict time frames for SN adoption as they can vary from case to case. We’ve also noticed that I-800 Hague families take a little longer for travel clearance with a few extra paperwork processing steps involved.
We will do our best to utilize this China Blog to provide updated information and communication like this on a regular basis.
The China Team wishes you a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day holiday weekend.
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