[vivismom]

someone on another forum is saying "now that the wait is 24 months..." or i'm sure some of you saw the "we could have 2 babies by the time we're referred"... at the same time the CCCA is saying the want to keep the wait close to a year... who should we believe? what are you all choosing to believe? what wait times are the agencies saying now? we hope to be dtc next friday...

[cungar]

The current wait is 14 months. It is not 24 months. There is no official word on whether the wait will get longer or shorter but rumors have included everything from a speed up to a 2+ year wait. All we can say is that for the last year it has gotten longer every month.

[gardener]

My agency told me that the wait time is about 14 months.

[Ready2bparents]

I called my agency last week and told them that from what I'd been reading on the message boards I wanted them to be up front and honest with me about the wait time.

They told me the approximate wait time is 22 months.

[gardener]

Originally Posted by Ready2bparents

I called my agency last week and told them that from what I'd been reading on the message boards I wanted them to be up front and honest with me about the wait time.

They told me the approximate wait time is 22 months.

Could you pm me? I would like to know which agency told you. Now, I am getting upset because I was told by my agency 14 months.

[foreverluv]

Originally Posted by gardener

Could you pm me? I would like to know which agency told you. Now, I am getting upset because I was told by my agency 14 months.

The wait time is currently 14 months, as in the last group that received their referrals waited 14 months from LID to referral. It is unclear as to whether the wait will speed up or slow down. But, they are currently only referral about 14 or so days of LIDs every month, so it is taking at least 2 months to get throught 1 month of referrals. If it continues at this pace, the wait will be about 24 months for people getting logged in now. It could speed up though, you just can't tell and different agencies are reporting different things.

[mkinzie]

When I spoke to my agency, they said there is absolutely no way to predict what the wait will be. I try not to worry about the wait anymore. On Friday we will be waiting for a year. I'll wait 5 if I have to but I'll admit it gets very hard sometimes. Hang in there!

[specialk4b]

Most agencies tell you what the wait time "is" by telling you how long the most recent referrals took. (As others have said 13-14 months for this last batch).

But that's no real indicator of what the wait times will be in the future. And the more recent your LID, the more uncertain the timeframe is. That uncertainty is part of the China program right now.

I don't think many will complain if the times drop, so I think some agencies are trying to prepare clients for what they feel is the worst case scenario by saying it could be up to 24 months.

[Happy2Bhere]

How could the agencies, or even the CCAA have any idea how long referrals will take? I mean, the long wait times might have scared some away. There might be TWICE as many Dossiers as anyone thinks, or half as many. Yes, it is taking 30 days to get through 14 days of dossiers, but that is the way it is right now. In a few months, it could speed up, slow down, get tons of dossiers, fewer, there just is no way of knowing.

I would love to know the exact moment our daughter will be referred to us, or at least a guestimate, but since there is no way of knowing, I figure when it is meant to happen, it will.

Hopefully, things will speed up for everyone's sake, ours too.

Melissa

[sak9645]

No one can really predict what China's wait time will be.

The main determining factor is how many dossiers China receives before your dossier group is logged in, since the CCAA will match your group only after all the groups before yours are matched. If there has been a sharp decline in dossier submissions, because some families are worried about longer waits and stricter rules. But if the same number of dossiers, or more dossiers, are being submitted, the wait can be about what it is now, or even longer.

Another determining factor is how many groups of child dossiers China receives from orphanages. While China is accrediting more orphanages for international adoption, which could potentially increase the availability of children for referral, it is also pushing for increased domestic adoption. If orphanages are holding some kids back for domestic adoption, the number of children could decrease. The fact that the CCAA is also pushing orphanages to submit more detailed paperwork and such, because that is what Americans and other foreigners wants, could also limit the number of children whose dossiers are sent to Beijing for matching.

Still another factor is the staffing at the CCAA. If staffers leave, or if new staffers arrive, the ability to process dossiers in a timely manner can be affected. If the flu goes through the office and a lot of people take sick days, the ability to process dossiers will be affected. And if senior people have a schedule that involves travel to speak to adoption officials in foreign countries or in China, they may have to delay signing off on matches and such.

All in all, the best thing to do is to spend time after DTC doing things that you won't have a chance to do after your child arrives home. As an example, you may want to take a second, temporary job and put the earned funds into a savings account. You may want to finish a degree or take a Chinese course. You may want to finish your basement or remodel your kitchen. You may want to take some long weekends with your spouse, visiting country inns. Or you may want to lose 20 lb. or become more physically fit. Whatever you do, it will help keep your mind off the calendar, and will improve your ability to parent over the longer term.

Sharon

[Ready2bparents]

Gardner ~ I sent you a pm, but I think my agency was trying to give me the worst case scenario as stated by the other posters.

Last year when I met with them, the wait time was much shorter. Unfortunately we were not ready mentally to commit to adoption.

Today I will wait as long as it takes to get my daughter.

[gardener]

Hi all- I will take one thing at a time. I am focusing on the home study completion now; I will deal whatever is next on the list. Regardless how long the wait time is -as someone you indicated, I will hang in here and get our baby.
Thank you for the helpful messages. I feel a little better.

[lovemybulldog]

I just completed our homestudy classes yesterday (huge milestone! ), at which time they indicated that referrals received this month are at about 14 months since LID. Accounting for recent trends, which are basically that there are more dossiers than paper ready kids (and probably bueuocracy garbabage and staffing issues that we'll never really know for sure), by the time those who are just now DTC and even LID get referral could be at 20 to 24 months.

In our class of 12 couples, 10 were in the China program. One was in the Russia program and another the African American Infant program. Not one family was deterred by the growing wait times.

Consider learning more about the Waiting Children if that wait is just too long. There are a lot of awesome kids out there who have minor correctable issues such as hernia, cleft affected, or even just a birthmark. Some kids are also just too old or male and thus not a popular choice.

[oleson1]

My understanding with China is that it goes in cycles. My hope for all of you is that the tides will turn soon!