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.
July 2011
In June, the CCWA matched families with dossiers submitted through July 6, 2006. This is a slowdown from the number of days processed in May.
Our families who received matches at the end of May are eagerly planning for their travel to China later this summer. Families with an August 2006 LID should be working to update their home study and ensure their immigration approval is current.
Families interested in beginning an adoption from China are encouraged to consider the China Special Needs program. We have seen several families complete their adoptions within about 12-15 months. It is a great alternative to waiting 5-6 years in the China program. There are many waiting children with minor and correctable special needs. For more information, please contact our China Special Needs Program Coordinator, Carol Galvin.
If you have any questions about adopting from China, please contact Allie Weldon.
June 2011
At the end of May, the CCCWA completed matches for families with dossiers submitted though June 30, 2006. This means 10 days were processed this month! It has been quite a long time since the CCCWA completed so many matches in one group. We had six families receive referrals with this group and they could not be more excited to begin preparing for the next steps of their adoptions.
Families interested in beginning an adoption from China are encouraged to consider the China Special Needs program. We have seen several families complete their adoptions within about 12-15 months. It is a great alternative to waiting 5-6 years in the China program. There are many waiting children with minor and correctable special needs. For more information, please contact our China Special Needs Program Coordinator, Carol Galvin.
If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
May 2011
At the end of April the CCCWA completed matches for families with dossier submitted through June 20, 2006. Our next group of families is eagerly waiting their matches within the next month or two!
In April we welcomed home six families with their beautiful daughters. The feedback from the families was very positive and they had a wonderful experience in China. The families agree it was well worth the wait!
Carolina Adoption Services was recently approved to have our own Waiting Child program in China! It is a great alternative for families who are open to minor and correctable special needs and prefer not to wait in the China program. It is a great time to adopt from China!
If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
April 2011
There were many changes in China last month! First, the CCAA has officially changed their name to the China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA). The new name better reflects their work as both the Central Authority for adoption and a children’s welfare organization.
In March the CCCWA also announced that they have opened the China Special Focus program to single women! This is a significant change which we hope will open the doors for more children to be placed from the Special Focus program. For more information about this, please contact our China Waiting Child Program Coordinator, Carol Galvin.
A third announcement was issued by the CCCWA stating changes to the requirements in the home study and post-adoption reports. While we are waiting for clarification on some of these changes, one of the most significant is all home studies (for families submitting dossiers after October 1st) and post-adoption reports must be completed by a Hague accredited agency.
At the end of March the CCCWA completed matches for families with dossiers submitted through June 15, 2006. We anticipate that our next group of families will receive their referrals within the next few months. We have six families currently in China completing their adoptions. We look forward to welcoming these families home with their beautiful daughters!
The China Waiting Child program is a great alternative for families who are open to minor and correctable special needs and want the option to complete their adoption in about one year.
If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
March 2011
We have six families who are anxiously waiting to travel this month to meet their beautiful daughters! In February the CCAA completed matching for families with dossiers submitted through June 9, 2006. While we are pleased to see that 6 days of LIDs were processed, the number of families to receive matches declined. It is believed that the number of referrals declined as there are fewer active dossiers with each group.
The China Waiting Child program is a great alternative for families who are open to minor and correctable special needs and prefer not to wait in the China program.
If you have any questions about adopting from China, please contact Allie Weldon.
February 2011
We have a group of six families with a May 29, 2006 LID preparing to travel to complete their adoptions in early March! At the very end of January the CCAA completed matching for families with dossiers submitted through June 2, 2006.
In celebration of the New Year of the rabbit, all Chinese offices are closed for business. Lunar New Year also referred to as Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is the most important holiday celebrated in China. The celebrations last for 15 days, beginning with the New Moon and ending with the full moon. On New Year’s Eve firecrackers are seen throughout the country at midnight. Early the next morning children wake their parents up to wish them a healthy and Happy New Year. Then they receive red envelopes containing “lucky” money, the amount given is always an even number as odd numbers are considered bad luck. The culmination of Lunar New Year is marked by the Lantern Festival.
The China Waiting Child program is a great alternative for families who are open to minor and correctable special needs and prefer not to wait in the China program.
If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
January 2011
A few days before the holidays, our next group of families with a May 29, 2006 LID, received the matches of their beautiful daughters! This was also the cut-off date for December referrals.
Families are reminded that it is most important that they do not allow their homestudy, CIS fingerprints or, CIS approval to expire at any time during the process. We advise that families begin the renewal process at least four months prior to the expiration dates. With each group we find that families are scrambling to extend their I600A or to file an I800A, this is resulting in unnecessary travel delays.
The China Waiting Child program is a great alternative for families who are open to minor and correctable special needs and prefer not to wait in the China program. We have many children waiting to be matched with families in the Special Focus program.
If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
December 2010
We are anxiously waiting for news from the CCAA on how many LID’s they processed at the end of November. We are hopeful that our next group of families with an early June LID will receive referrals within the next couple of months!
Families are reminded that it is most important that they do not allow their homestudy, CIS fingerprints or CIS approval to expire at any time during the process. We advise that families begin the renewal process at least four months prior to the expiration dates.
The China Waiting Child program is a great alternative for families who are open to minor and correctable special needs and prefer not to wait in the China program. We currently have several children waiting to be matched with families in the Special Focus program. If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
November 2010
At the end of October the CCAA completed the matching process for families with dossiers submitted through May 23, 2006. We were pleased to see that 5 days were processed this month as it is an increase from the 3 days that were processed in September! We are hopeful that our next group of families with an early June LID will receive referrals within the next couple of months!
Families are reminded that it is most important that they do not allow their home study, CIS fingerprints or CIS approval to expire at any time during the process. We advise that families begin the renewal process at least four months prior to the expiration dates.
The China Waiting Child program is a great alternative for families who are open to varying special needs and prefer not to wait in the China program. We currently have several children waiting to be matched with families in the Special Focus program. If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
October 2010
Referrals slowed down a bit in September. The CCAA completed matches for families with dossiers submitted through May 18, 2010, which means they processed three days of LIDs.
In mid-September we welcomed home nine families with their daughters! They are all doing well and had a wonderful in-country experience!
As a reminder, it is most important that families do not allow their homestudy, CIS fingerprints or CIS approval to expire at any time during the process. We advise that families begin the renewal process at least four months prior to the expiration dates.
The China Waiting Child program is a great alternative for families who are open to minor and correctable special needs and prefer not to wait in the China program. If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
September 2010
In August the CCAA completed matches for families with dossiers submitted through May 15, 2006. We currently have nine families in China completing their adoptions! It is vitally important that families do not allow their home study, CIS fingerprints or CIS approval expire at any time during the process.
On September 22nd China will celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival! This celebration is considered to be one of the most important holidays in China. One of the customs is for families and friends to sit outside, gazing at the moon and enjoying conversations with loved ones. Children enjoy listening to stories and eating mooncakes. Mooncakes are an important part of this festival; they are given to family or friends signifying spending time together during this celebration.
The China Waiting Child program remains a wonderful option for families who prefer not to wait in the China program. If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
August 2010
In July the CCAA completed matches for families with dossiers submitted through May 10, 2006. Our nine families who received referrals in June are preparing to travel at the end of this month! It is critical that families in the China program verify that their home study and immigration approval are current. The China Waiting Child program remains a wonderful option for families who prefer not to wait in the China program. If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
July 2010
We are thrilled to share that in June we had nine families with an LID of May 3, 2006 receive referrals! We are anticipating that these families may travel at the end of August or early September. It is important that families in the China program verify that their home study and immigration approval are current. The China Waiting Child program remains a wonderful option for families who prefer not to wait in the China program. If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
June 2010
In May, the CCAA completed the matching for families with dossiers submitted through April 21, 2006. It is important that families in the China program verify that their immigration approval is current. The China Waiting Child program remains a wonderful option for families who prefer not to wait in the China program. If you have any questions please contact Allie Weldon.
May 2010
The CCAA has completed the matching for families with dossiers submitted through April 17, 2006. If the CCAA continues to issue matches at this rate we are hopeful that our next group of families with dossiers submitted in early May 2006 will receive their referrals in the next few months. If you have any questions, please contact Allie Weldon.
April 2010
Our 15 families came home with their daughters on March 29th! The families report being thrilled with their daughters – It was amazing how many of the families said that they “got the best one!” Generally, the children have made good adjustments, are eating well, and are happy and thriving in their new families.
Currently, CCAA has now reviewed Dossiers through April 30, 2009, so the review dates are moving much more quickly, probably due to the fact that there have been fewer dossiers being submitted. However, there does not appear to have been a change with the matching process, and as of right now it appears that CCAA has not yet matched families with LID’s past April 11, 2006. CAS will continue to monitor this for our families.
We continue to have families transferring from our regular Non-Special Needs China Program to our Waiting China Children Program. There have been some changes in this program recently, mainly that families can be matched with children on our private agency list only after they have been submitted a new Dossier. If you are interested in finding out more about this program, please contact our Waiting China Program Coordinator, Carol Galvin at 757-478-3313.
March 2010
The exciting news is that our 15 families with LID of 4/3/06, who received their referrals from CCAA the week between Christmas and New Year’s, are leaving this week for China to get their daughters!
We are pleased to announce that the CCAA has now reviewed dossiers through April 30, 2008. It is apparent that many more days’ worth of dossiers are being processed each month by the CCAA. The CCAA also recently processed 6 days of LID’s with matches of children during the past month. If this trend holds, the process is speeding up slightly; from 2 days of processing in December, 3 days in January, to 6 days in February. As a result, the CCAA has now matched children with their forever families who have LID’s up to and including April 11, 2006. We will need to see how things go next month to see if there is actually a trend of things moving faster in the regular China Program.
We have also had several families transfer from our regular Non-Special Needs China Program to our Waiting China Children Program. If you are interested in finding out more about this program, please contact our Waiting China Program Coordinator, Carol Galvin. She can be reached at cgalvin@carolinaadoption.org or at 757-478-3313.
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.