China – Referral Matching Dates for January
We’d like to congratulate our family who received their healthy referral for their little girl on January 6! The CCCWA has currently completed matching through November 21, 2006 LID’s. Our next referral group is logged into the CCCWA on November 22, 2006 and we expect those families to receive their referrals in the next group that the CCCWA matches. The current wait time for a healthy referral from China is 86 months (last group to receive referrals) and will be 87 months for anyone receiving a referral in January. This timeframe is the same at all agencies and continues to increase monthly based on China’s monthly matching process. 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 both boys and girls infant to age 13, older healthy children (generally 10-13 years 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. This program has a wide spectrum of children available, so don’t hesitate to contact our China program staff with any questions.