China Updates
These country updates bring you the most current and up-to-date information from our program coordinators. One way of keeping you informed of what is going on in the country.
February 2010
Our fifteen families with referrals from China just got their Travel Permission from CCAA! Families are gearing up to travel by the end of February or early March. It’s been an exciting time! The year of the Tiger will be a good one for them!
Meanwhile, China is getting ready to celebrate the year of the Tiger on their New Year, which is Feb. 16. It is one of the biggest celebrations in the country. For about one week people celebrate with their families and neighbors, therefore not much work gets done! CCAA has now matched families through April 5, 2006.
January 2010
We have great news to report in our regular China Program! While the cut-off date for the CCAA review of files continues to be February 29, 2008, the CCAA has moved forward with matching children to families with LID’s through April 3, 2006. As a result, during the week between Christmas and New Years, 15 of our families received their referrals!! Generally, travel is 8–10 weeks after receiving referrals, but due to the Chinese New Year, travel may be postponed by a couple of weeks. We are waiting anxiously to hear the news about travel!
Speaking of the Chinese New Year, this year it will occur on Feb. 14, 2010. As you probably know, the Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar system, which the Chinese have been calculating the New Year for a long time. The year 2010 is the lunar year 4708 in the Chinese calendar system, and is the year of the Tiger. The Tiger is associated with bravery, so this is the start of a brave new year! Perhaps courage will help all of you who are still waiting for matches from CCAA to continue to be strong and patient as well!
Speaking of the New Year, did you know that everyone in China celebrates their birthday on New Years even if it is not the official date of their birthday? So everyone turns another year older on this day. Also, the Chinese believe that babies are actually born at one year of age! Good thing we calculate age differently in the U.S. or our 15 families would all have to get their home studies changed to approve them for older children!
This is a good segue to remind everyone in the China Program to be sure to keep up with their USCIS Approvals, fingerprints, and home study expirations. All of these have to be kept current and up-to-date to avoid expiration, and possible change to the I-800 or Hague system. Please check with our China Program Coordinator, Trudy Tobias, if you have any questions in this regard. Also, it would be a good idea that whenever your next home study is updated to get approval for children at least 18 months old, and preferably 24 months old, to avoid having to get your home study amended at the last minute. At the time of referral, many children are already 12 months of age, or close to it, and consequently, will be older at the time of adoption. You can still request a child as young as possible, but please expand your approval and acceptance age as advised.
Again, a reminder that we do offer a China Waiting Program. If you would like more information on this program, please see the information on our website.
Wishing all of you a happy New Year in 2010 or 4708!
December 2009
We are happy to say that CCAA has now reviewed files to February 29, 2008, so the review of files is now moving along well. The CCAA has also matched children to families with LID’s through March 31, 2006. This represents a movement of three days. As we have a group with LID’s of April 3, 2006, we are keeping our fingers crossed that our families will be matched in the next month or two, and then traveling six to nine weeks later!
We hope that these families will spread the word to their friends and family to be sure to bring their new child gifts and clothing decorated with tigers! It is thought in china that people believe that tigers protect children, and it is traditional to bring such gifts when a new child comes into a family.
We are also happy to welcome families who have transferred to our China Program from Adoptions From The Heart. We look forward to working with these families to help them complete their adoption journey.
As you know, through our subsidiary agency, ABC Adoptions, Inc., out of Virginia, we are able to offer a Waiting China Children Program. We’re excited that we now have six families who have been approved in the past two months to adopt children from this program. They anticipate traveling within the year. The Program Coordinator for this program is Carol Galvin, she can be reached at 757-478-3313. Please note that for families with dossiers already in China, you can transfer to this program, and be able to view our agency-specific list of children. For families who have just applied to the Waiting Children China Program, you are able to see the list of children assigned to us as well as the list shared by all agencies. These regulations have been set up by CCAA.
November 2009
In October, China issued referrals for families with LID between March 24, 2006, and March 28, 2006. We have some families with early April 2006 LID’s who are anxiously waiting! Hopefully, it won’t be too much longer!!!
This summer CAS is again arranging a China heritage trip. The tentative dates scheduled are June 21, to July 6, 2010. We need a minimum number of ten adults and six children in order to host this trip, which promises to be a wonderful experience for families. Again, please contact Trudy for more information.
As we enter our Thanksgiving holiday season, it’s time to think of family and traditions. Did you know that the Chinese Thanksgiving is a festival also known as the Winter Solstice Festival? It is celebrated on or around December 22, the shortest day of the year. The origins of this festival can be traced back to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours, and therefore, an increase in positive energy. During this holiday people with the same surname or from the same clan traditionally gather at their ancestral temples to worship. This is followed by a grand reunion dinner, which always includes serving a dish of balls made from glutinous rice, symbolizing reunion. Sometimes these balls are brightly colored, and are cooked in a sweet soup or savory broth. Coming just before Christmas, the Chinese Thanksgiving would be a good tradition to start in your family, since baptized Christians only comprise approximately one percent of the Chinese population, Christmas itself is not a major holiday. However, adding the Chinese Thanksgiving or Winter Solstice Festival to your family’s traditions is a great way to blend your child’s homeland traditions with your own.
September 2009
We have our first Hague family in China! It’s been an exciting time for them, after all the waiting…
CCAA processed 2 days’ worth of dossiers this past month. They finished the review of adoption application documents registered with CCAA before October 31, 2007, and finished the placement of children for the families with LID’s before March 24, 2006.
As mentioned previously, there is a company that will help adopting parents learn Chinese. Trudy has received some additional information and has learned that the program teaches Chinese specifically to learn how to address your child’s needs, sing Chinese lullabies, and express gratitude to social welfare institute workers. It also provides Hague-compliant cultural training. If anyone is interested, please contact Trudy Tobias.
August 2009
Our first Hague family’s paperwork has moved along smoothly. China is one of the few countries that the U.S. State Department has been very pleased with the Hague procedures that the Chinese government has instituted.
CCAA processed 2 days’ worth of dossiers this past month. They finished the review of adoption application documents registered with CCAA before August 31, 2007, and finished the placement of children for the families with LID’s before March 22, 2006.
There is a new company that is enlisting families who may be interested in learning Chinese for their adoption trip. Any interested families may contact Trudy Tobias, China Program Coordinator, for more information.
July 2009
We are happy to announce that CCAA had processed another six days’ worth of dossiers matching them with children. This makes two times in a row that the CCAA has processed that many, so we are hopeful that things will continue to be a bit faster for folks in our China Program. As a result, our next China family received their referral and is now completing the paperwork to travel! This is the first family to go through under The Hague process. So far, things are going smoothly, although we have found in our other Hague countries that it generally takes longer to get travel approval as they have to wait for I800 approval. These new procedures will NOT affect families who submitted an I600A application to the USCIS prior to April 1, 2008, unless the family allows their I600 Approval (also known as the I171H or I797C) to expire!
June 2009
The latest information from CCAA is that CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with their office before April 30, 2007, and that CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with their office before March 14, 2009. This is the most processing that they have done in several months and we hope that it is a good indicator of the future. We are still waiting for our next referrals to occur, and continue to hope that it will be in the next few months. The swine flu epidemic has slowed down travel to China; and we hope that this situation will rectify itself by September. Let’s keep our fingers – and toes! – crossed!
May 2009
CAS is eagerly waiting for our next family to receive their referral! We believe it should happen in the next month. Our in-country facilitator assured CAS that the current wait for a referral remains around three years rather than the five to seven years which are circulating in a rumor. As CAS learns more information, we will inform families. Despite the long wait, China continues to be an excellent adoption program that has remained stable and predictable with regards to their laws and process during the past 10+ years. Although the adoption process has slowed down, to date the program has never experienced a shut-down since the inception of the CCAA. The children tend to be healthy and adjust well to their new families and homes. For more inforamtion about the China adoption program, contact Trudy Tobias.
To view past China adoption program updates, please see our CAS Publications page and click on the Monthly Country Updates.