China – Referral Matching Cut-off Dates for July

We’d like
to congratulate the family who received their healthy referral for their little
girl in July! The CCCWA recently announced that they have completed the
referral matching for families who were logged into the CCCWA October 25-
November 6, 2006. AWAA’s only family to receive a referral was logged in
on November 6, 2006. Agencies only receive healthy referrals if they have
families who are logged in on one of the dates that the CCCWA processes for
matching.

The
current wait time for a healthy referral from China is 80 months (last group to
receive referrals) and will be 81 months for anyone receiving a referral in
August. This timeframe is the same at all agencies and continues to increase.
This timeframe is based on the time from Log in Date (when the dossier arrives
in China and is officially received by the CCCWA) to the date of the child
match. This wait time applies to all families in all stages of the program and
is assessed from Log in Date only and not by when a family began working on
their paperwork for China.

Chinese Heritage Expedites

Families who are of Chinese heritage and
who have dossiers submitted as Chinese expedites, can anticipate a slightly
shorter wait time. The CCCWA is currently matching Chinese expedite families
who have a dossier logged in November of 2007 as they are currently matching LID’s
from November 2006 for the general program. The CCCWA’s desire is to keep one
year apart between the regular matching process and the Chinese expedite
matching process. This will mean that the Chinese expedite wait time will
generally be 12 months shorter than the current estimated wait time you will
see listed each month.

Options While you Wait

There are several options that families, who are waiting on
a healthy referral, have while they wait. A family may be approved to do a
concurrent family building plan, in which they pursue pregnancy or another
adoption while waiting on their China adoption match. Families may also switch
to a different adoption program; however, this does require that a family build
a dossier for that particular country, as regulations for dossiers vary
depending on the country. Families may also join the Waiting Children Program
(no new fees or dossier requirements are required) where they can be matched
with a waiting child by our agency staff. Families participating in the waiting
children program will complete a simple application that allows our staff and
social workers to see what type of child your family desires to adopt. The
waiting children program has children infant to age 13, older healthy children
(generally 10-13 yrs on average), and children with repaired medical needs,
 unrepaired medical needs, or delays. Families interested in learning
about any of these options should inquire with their Family Coordinator.