Grendel’s Kitchen

Excerpt from monthly e-mail update to all Wide Horizons families currently awaiting a referral from China:

What’s been happening with the China program?
We received 33 referrals on July 28. These families’ documents were mailed to China in December and January. We are expecting the next group of referrals (documents sent to China in February) to arrive sometime in the next week. The wait for referral remains at approximately 6-7 months. Note: You receive your group number (i.e. China 123) upon receiving your referral.

How old have the children been recently?
There is no real “trend” as to how old children are when they come home. This depends on the orphanage, the region and the time the children are placed. In general, children are 8-14 months of age at time of referral. Once children are found, orphanages are required to search for a child’s birth family for six months before registering the child with CCAA. Therefore, children will never be under six months of age at the time of referral. Travel is 2-3 months following referral, so when you meet your child, s/he will always be 2-3 months older than her/his age at referral.

Full message:

Dear families,

This is a monthly e-mail update to all Wide Horizons families currently awaiting a referral from China. [... contact info deleted...]

What’s been happening with the China program?
We received 33 referrals on July 28. These families’ documents were mailed to China in December and January. We are expecting the next group of referrals (documents sent to China in February) to arrive sometime in the next week. The wait for referral remains at approximately 6-7 months.

China 126 is slated to travel in mid-October as a national holiday, a trade fair and a conference in Beijing are all taking place earlier in that month. China 125 returned from China on August 14th.

Note: You will receive your group number (i.e. China 123) upon receiving your referral.

Updates from China
We are happy to report that the US Consulate’s move to the TianHe District of Guangzhou did not have any significant effect on China 125’s trip. As far as we are aware, families will still be staying on Shamian Island for the short stay in Guangzhou. We are still closely monitoring the situation and will update you with any new information.

Linda Lin will be making her biannual trip to China in October with Vicki Peterson, WHFC’s Executive Director, and Heather Ames, the agency’s Director of Post Adoption Services. We look forward to the news, updates, information and humanitarian aid opportunties that they will bring back from their visits to CCAA and various orphanages.

How old have the children been recently?
There is no really “trend” as to how old children are when they come home. This depends on the orphanage, the region and the time the children are placed. In general, children are 8-14 months of age at time of referral. Once children are found, orphanages are required to search for a child’s birth family for six months before registering the child with CCAA. Therefore, children will never be under six months of age at the time of referral. Travel is 2-3 months following referral, so when you meet your child, s/he will always be 2-3 months older than her/his age at referral.

How will we find out about our referral? What information will there be?
When referrals arrive at the agency, you will receive an initial call from your social worker with your child’s name, gender, date of birth, province and orphanage. The rest of the information needs to be translated and processed, which takes 3-5 days. Once this is complete, you will meet with your social worker to go over the information in the referral. This generally includes 3-4 photos of the child, information on the child’s routine and personality, as well as a basic medical report.

A reminder that the medical system in China is very different from that in the US. It is extremely common to receive a medical report on your child where head circumference, chest circumference, and height are mildly to significantly off. This is because, in China, medical professionals do not see exact measurements as being as important to a child’s diagnosis as their appearance and behavior, so measurements are not often done with great care. Occasionally a parent or pediatrician who is not experienced in international adoption may be alarmed by these measurements, so it is important to keep in mind how common a phenomenon it is. With very few exceptions, these children turn out to be healthy apart from developmental delays and transient health conditions resulting from orphanage care.

Be advised that, upon referral, you will receive all of the information that has been given to Wide Horizons by CCAA.

Once we have our referral, when can we expect to travel?
Travel to China occurs about two to three months following the referral, and the trip itself is two weeks long. Families should be advised that exact travel dates are often not determined until as few as two to three weeks prior to the trip itself. (Very occasionally there is even less notice than this if we have to push a trip through around the holidays or other events. In all cases we will provide you with as much information in advance as possible).

Why does it take so long to arrange travel?
There are a number of things that need to happen during the period between referral and travel. Once we send acceptances back to China, we then need to await the travel invitations from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA), secure visa appointments at the US Consulate, work with local Chinese authorities to make sure they can host the group in the designated timeframe, and finally make hotel and airline arrangements around these key events. These are steps that every agency is required to follow. We will try our best to estimate an approximate travel date around the time of your referral, but even estimated travel dates can change due to a number of factors. Please keep this in mind when making arrangements for time off work, child care, go-withs, etc. Our number one priority is getting the children home as soon as possible, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that groups travel in the shortest amount of time possible.

It is also important to be mindful of the unpredictable nature of international adoption in general, and travel in particular. There are many factors that are beyond our control, such as CCAA approvals and the availability of consulate appointments, accomodations and flights. We are subject to CCAA, the consulate, hotels and airlines. Hence it is important to remain flexible and note that plans can change for a number of reasons.

What do we do while we’re waiting to travel?
There are a number of things you can be doing in the weeks between referral and travel. If you haven’t already, you may want to talk to your doctor or travel clinic about travel vaccinations. Though there are no vaccinations required to enter China, most doctors do have certain precautionary recommendations.

Also, it is vital that your fingerprints and immigration approval are up to date prior to travel. Fingerprints are valid for 15 months and CIS approval (notice of favorable determination) is valid for 18 months. If you are unsure as to when you were last fingerprinted or received your approval, contact your social worker to be sure these things are up to date before you travel. Traveling to China with outdated fingerprints or approval could result in significant in-country delays.

Another important event leading up to the trip is the travel meeting, which takes place approximately two weeks to one month prior to the trip itself. This is where you will receive specific information about travel, meet the group and the group leaders, and have your questions and concerns addressed. ALL travelers AND spouses are expected to attend this meeting, as the information distributed is invaluable and this marks the beginning of your journey. The travel meeting is always on a weekday at the Waltham office, so you may want to begin looking into arrangements for transportation and time off work.

Who should travel to China?
Now is a great time to begin thinking about the trip itself; namely, who will be traveling. The trip to China is as long, exhausting, and emotional as it is rewarding and wonderful. As a parent, you will need to be in peak condition in order to focus on meeting your child and maximizing your enjoyment of the experience. Both parents are highly encouraged to travel to meet their child, though we know this is not always possible.

Generally, we discourage parents from bringing “go-alongs,” (extended family or friends) unless there is a need for an extra person. Examples are situations where only one parent is traveling and needs an extra set of hands to carry luggage and provide emotional support, or if a family is traveling with a small child who requires attention during the tough adjustment while the parents are bonding with the new baby (more on this below). Otherwise, we try our best to be mindful of group size and the purpose of the trip. This is your time to meet and bond with your new baby. Extra people, though they may be excited about the adopton and want to help, may take your focus away from this, as well as add to numbers which can be cumbersome for the guides, group leaders, and of course fellow travelers.

It is also important to remember that go-withs should be on the trip solely to provide support to you. While it is a wonderful opportunity for them to experience the process and visit China, it should be made clear they will be accompanying you because you will need their assistance, in the absence of a spouse or to attend to a small child to whom you will not be able to give your full attention. Of course they will be able to enjoy all of the sightseeing trips, meals and shopping that is offered, but the focus of the trip is your new child. Keep this in mind when considering who might accompany you.

Similarly, it is a big decision whether to bring your current child or children along on the trip. While this is an incomparable opportunity for older children to visit China and be part of the story of their sibling’s adoption, it has been our experience that younger children (generally under age 5, with exceptions of course) tend not to be old enough to appreciate the experience, may not remember it, and may have difficulty on what is undoubtedly an emotionaly and physically exhausting trip. Additionally, this will be a time when their parents are bonding with a new child. This is a huge adjustment for any child, and coupled with being away from home, in a strange place, jetlagged and possibly not feeling well, the likelihood of the child acting out and negatively impacting the trip and the group is compounded. Ultimately, you know your child best and how well s/he would handle such a trip.

Your social worker and the China team are available to discuss these important decisions with you, and help you weigh the pros and cons of additional travel companions.

New Multicultural Event!
Wide Horizons is happy to be holding our first Multi-Cultural Family Festival: Passport 2005 on November 12, 2005 in Marlborough, Massachusetts. This event will offer networking opportunities, multicultural performances and food samplings, internatinoal items for sale, arts and crafts for children, raffles and above all a chance to reconnect with other China families while learning about our other countries and cultures. The event’s success depends on the help of parent volunteers, who will be working in conjunction with program and event staff to organize decorations, crafts, resource lists, networking lists, and more. This is an ideal opportunity for waiting parents to become involved with the program and network with families who are both waiting and home. To volunteer or for more information on the event, visit our website at http://www.whfc.org/eventReg/EventView.htm?EventId=18 or contact Jennifer Casady at 781-419-0362 or jcasady@whfc.org.

Are there other waiting parents with whom I can network while I’m waiting?
There are monthly peer support groups offered to families in process who are waiting for their referral or to travel. For information on meetings in your area, please visit our website at http://www.whfc.org/meetings/wfmtgs.htm. The Multicultural family festival in November will also have a networking piece, where interested families in specific programs or points in the process will be connected in a formalized way.

I received a brown envelope from China. What does this mean?
The US Consulate in Guangzhou usually sends this package to families whose immigration approval they have received. This package most often arrives after your dossier has been sent to China, but sometimes it arrives before, and other times it doesn’t arrive at all. The envelope contains paperwork required to obtain your baby’s visa, and will be filled out when you are in China. When you receive the envelope, put it in a safe place and be sure to bring it with you to China. Don’t worry if you didn’t receive a brown envelope. Not everyone gets one, and it does not mean the consulate hasn’t received your approval (we will make sure the consulate has all approvals before the group leaves). The group leaders and guides will have copies of the forms you will need and provide them for you on the trip.

We heard that we have to bring a great deal of cash to China. Is this true?
Part of the China program fee will be paid to provincial and consulate officials in China in US dollars. This totals approximately $4,700 and needs to be carried to China in bills which are not necessarily brand new but in good condition (not torn, crinkled, written on, taped, etc.). Over the years we have attempted several different ways to get this money to the appropriate people in China, and the system of families bringing the cash has turned out to be the simplest and most foolproof. Most families wear a money belt under their clothes while traveling, and each of the hotels have safes in the rooms for use at no cost to you. 125 groups have carried cash and returned home incident free. During your wait, you may wish to check with your bank to see when they need to be notified to have adequate time to supply you with these bills. This and other details will be addressed at the travel meeting.

Tax Credit
Extensive information on the federal adoption tax credit can be found at www.irs.gov, by doing a search for Publication 968.

Is there a limit to the number of families who can adopt from China?
There is no limit to the number of married couples who can apply to the program (nor is there a limit to the number of children in need of loving homes). Due to increased numbers of applications being sent to China, we were recently authorized to send additional singles’ applications to China. This is great news for single parent families adopting from China, as the process will likely move faster than expected for those singles currently working with us. This is due entirely to the increased number of married couples who have been applying to the program. Even with this encouraging news, we constantly in need of families.

New Program Introduction Meetings
Program introduction meetings have been scheduled for fall ‘05 and winter/spring ‘06. These meetings are designed for families deciding on a program, on an agency, or still considering adoption. It can also serve as a great “refresher course” for folks who are currently awaiting a referral. Topics covered at these meetings include children available from China, parent requirements, travel information, an introduction of our overseas representatives, ample time for Q&A. There is also the opportunity to hear from a family who has been through the process. A complete schedule of meetings can be found at http://www.whfc.org/onlinereg/ProgramIntro.htm . Members of the China team are also available to discuss the program with you individually.

Waiting Children
We currently have four waiting children available from China, ranging in age from 1-4 years old, mostly with correctable special needs. Pictures and information on these children can be found at http://www.whfc.org/adoption/waiting/listings/welcome.htm. In order to view the information you will need to register on the site for free with a user name and password. Families must have a completed dossier and immigration approval to be considered for a match with a waiting child.