CHINA PROGRAM UPDATES
Going into the new year of 2008, we
are thankful for each and every moment we have shared with our
wonderful China families and joyfully look forward to what this
year will bring. Children?s Hope is honored to be walking your
adoption journey with you and your family!
Referrals: On December 31,
2007, six of our families adopting from China received
referrals, each for a beautiful little girl. These girls, all
from the Guizhou province, range in age from 14 months to 4
years old. The girls? new families waited 25 long months for
this day, from their adoption paperwork submission to China on
December 19, 2005. We expect these families to travel in about 8
weeks. Congratulations!
Waiting Time: The current
waiting time from paperwork submission to China to the family?s
match with their child is 25 months. We fully expect this wait
time to grow to over 2 years in 2008 and continue to climb over
time to possibly 4 years.
China Travel: Our November
referral group and three waiting children families successfully
finalized their Chinese adoptions in mid-December and returned
home as united families before the New Year. An additional six
waiting children families traveled to China in the first half of
January. Welcome home! Our early December referral group is
currently traveling in China and will return January 31, prior
to the Chinese New Year.
Waiting Children: China?s
international adoption program is unique in its highly active
Waiting Children program. In 2007, nearly 31% of children
finding forever homes through Children?s Hope International ?
China were Waiting Children - healthy older children and those
with special medical needs.
The CCAA has fully implemented a new
electronic web system for their Waiting Children. On January 8,
the CCAA electronically assigned Children?s Hope 10 Waiting
Children and the following day, 8 additional Waiting Children to
match with our families. In the future, the CCAA may continue to
assign Waiting Children as they become available and not in
larger groups, as in the past.
An advantage to the mechanized
Waiting Child system - Children?s Hope is now able to quickly
transfer information for each child to CHI Family Net. Two weeks
of intense translation and processing can now be accomplished in
several days depending on the number of Waiting Children
assigned by the CCAA. The China team and our web master worked
very hard and made the first 10 Waiting Children available for
review on CHI Family Net the morning of January 9 and the
additional 8 Waiting Children available at the end of that day.
If you are a Children?s Hope family interested in our
Waiting/Special Needs program, please visit CHI Family Net for
more details.
Completed Adoptions: In 2007,
Children?s Hope completed 231 China adoptions, including two
sets of twins. Of the 231 China adoptions, 71 were Waiting
Children. Children?s Hope has completed 11 China adoptions in
January.
2008 Olympics: Melody Zhang,
our associate director, participated in an open conversation
with the CCAA on the possible effects of the 2008 Olympics on
international adoption from China. Aside from possible travel
delays for families receiving their referral during the Olympics
or just prior to the Olympics in Beijing, the CCAA does not
believe the 2008 Olympics will affect international adoption
from China. If the government declares a holiday during the
Olympics, the CCAA may adjust to complete both months?
assignments the following month. The CCAA will likely extend the
effective period for travel approvals as well.
?Layne keeps us very busy,? says mom
Heather Eledge. ?She is the most wonderful thing that has ever
happened to us. I cannot even put into words how much she means
to us. We are amazed that somehow God was able to find our
little girl on the other side of the world and bring her home to
us. We are forever grateful to CHI for helping us bring Layne
home. She is truly the light of our lives.? Heather and her
husband John adopted Layne from China in June 2007. She turns
2-years-old later this January. Happy birthday, Layne!
If you would like to share your
thoughts, experiences or stories about your adoption, email:
Jennifer Newcomb at
Jennifer.Newcomb@ChildrensHope.net
We would love to post your family
pictures.
2008 Children's Hope International.
All rights reserved.