[Ben345]

So my wife and I finished the paper chase and we are now waiting for our 1800A. Now that the busy part is over I have begun to read about the realities of how long we might have to wait . When we signed up for China adoption we were told by a number of people that families are waiting up to three years right now but once the CCAA gets through a backlog in 06' things should speed up for people who are now getting in the program. However, after spending some time on RQ's website I'm beginning to feel a little concerned about our decision.

Can someone please explain to me what the circumstances really are? What is the backlog and how many months/years long is it? I can live with 30 or so months but I was told to expect less.

We are a young couple, dw is 30, that has had difficulty conceiving on our own and we just want to start a family. We want to adopt from China with all our hearts and will remain in this program no matter what but I'm starting to think it might be time to look at other options in the meantime.

Thanks for any insight. I just want an opinion outside of our agency.

[PiperH]

Many people have said there won't be a speedup until CCAA gets through everyone who was LID before the rule changes of May 1, 2007, when CCAA tightened up the requirements.

A person with our agency said their applications dropped dramatically after the rule changes - by more than half.

At one point RQ said the backlog was some 30,000 dossiers. It's hard to get exact numbers because the only organization that knows how many dossiers there are is the CCAA, and they aren't talking.

On RQ's site have you looked at CCAA Updates & Referrals? It's on the right side of her blog page, under Site Navigation. One of the things she has there is a chart showing the referral history from March 2005 to now We were LID 4-4-07, and since then there has not been one month of referrals that had double-digit days of LIDs.

That chart gives you a pretty good idea of how things have gone historically (at least back to 2005) and how things have gone lately.

There also has been a lot of speculation that it will take all of 2009 to get through March 2006, which was a huge month for dossiers submitted.

Sorry if this sounds like a lot of bad news, but I wanted to give you an honest perspective.

Kevin

[Trace7]

We waited 21 months (which seems short now - but believe me - it did not seem that way while waiting as the wait was 8 months when we were logged in).

Since 2005, the wait has continued to get longer and longer for NSN (non special-needs) and until they get through the backlog, I do not see it speeding up. I personally think the wait will get to 5 years before it starts to improve. That is just my opinion. Knowing what you know, if I were you - I would look at other options for adopting - honestly.

I know that sounds harsh, but you could not pay me to get in the China line again. Yes, our daughter was worth it, but I could not do that again.

[jbzanie]

I personally wouldn't do it until the backlog is gone.

I was originally LID for a NSN child but switched over to the waiting child program with our agency. Have you looked into a waiting child program - maybe there are some needs that you can handle.

Not to be downer but you might want to check out China Adoption Forecast website (google it). You can plug in a LID but it also shows how many days they are behind and what the trend has been.

[momtolee1993]

Hi,
I am posting but am not a waiting parent. I have just always been interested as we almost chose China and after a mix up in our dossier to the Philippines we almost switched to China in late 2004. We stayed the course with the Philippines and brought home our beautiful little girl on Christmas eve 07. Things have worked out perfectly for our family as we we matched with our daughter the one meant to be ours :*)Loved the Philippines and their process.
I belong to a local group for children adopted from Asia. We get together to celebrate things like the Chinese New Year...and the Moon Festival.(Long and Rambling sorry, trying to give a little background :*) We met a lovely couple who are going to be picking up thier 3 year old daughter from China...they waited 2 1/2 years ..switched to special needs and were matched right away. After talking with people and social workers (I am Canadian) they predict the wait is now at 6 years for non special needs. It was also shared that a Canadian adoption agency that has done the majority of China adoptions in Canada has stopped taking new applications for the regular China program. First I want to applaud this agency ....because I think it is a crime tha agencies are still taking appllications and money for the regular program. (My opinion only) We also adopted a lovely son domestically and waited 3 years for him, tried to adopt a second child domestically and waited 9 years before moving on. So I have alot of experinence with waiting :*) In the USA you are allowed to apply to another country or pursue domestic adoption while waiting for your China referral. Unfortunalty in Canada you can not...you have to chose one program at a time. So that is an advantage for the USA. I feel very sad for PAP's enduring the wait but I am also very frustrated with the adoption agencies that are not being completely up front about how long the wait will be....and who knows what may happen if the wait goes longer than 6 years...will the program still be going...At this point would it not be easier to wait and apply when you see some positive changes....just curious...thoughts??? I wish everyone all the best and hope for your families.
Laurie
DS domestic adoption 15
DD Philippine adoption 2

[ashmilf]

We have a LID of 12/15/08, so we are waiting right now. We were also told up to 3 years (and we are fine with that), and while there is a lot of speculation re: 5+ years, I honestly think that it will be around 3 years. To some I sound naive, and I'm okay with that. I really do think there will be a speed up once they get through 2006 and then another speed up when they get to the new regulations. The hard part now is just waiting. The paperchase was great b/c I felt like I was moving toward something. Now I look forward to the monthly emails my agency sends out that tell you where you dossier is depending on your LID. We are currently in translation. Hopefully next month we will have move to "pending review". Celebrate the little achievements!

I wish you luck!

[ashmilf]

I also want to encourage you to go with your heart. There's a reason you were drawn to the China program and there's a reason you applied even with the wait at 3 years. Try to remember why you made the decision and then remember the little person you get to love for the rest of your life. That's what keeps me going and keeps me positive. If this is what you and your wife want to do, then it doesn't really matter what the predictions say. That doesn't mean don't look into it or don't be realistic, but just don't get so down about it. Remember why you chose this path.

[jbzanie]

The question is how long will it take to get through 2006. No one knows that answer.

They are only in the beginning of March which is supposedly the biggest month. November 2005 was a big month and it took 6 months to get through. February took 5 months and February was suppose to be small.

Look at China adoption forecast just to see the trend on how slow things have really gotten. From November 2005 LIDS to March 2006 LIDS, the LIDS days behind has almost doubled.

[KarenInCa]

I honestly expect it to be about a 4 yr wait. With our first daughter, we started when it was a 6 month wait, and it started going up. We got our referral after 10 months wait from LID.
It's a difficult wait no matter how you look at it, but if you are prepared for the wait to be longer, you're better off. Even though our daughter only took 10 months, the fact that we expected a referral by 6 months, made the final 4 months soooo very difficult. Whereas, with our second daughter, we went into it knowing it would be at least 2-3 years. And by expecting it to be closer to 4 years, we can go about our business and know that nothing is going to happen any time soon.
No one really knows why the slow down happened. Some speculate it was because China became too efficient with referrals and they had to slow it down a bit, some think it was because they were trying to get people to look at possibilities of SN, that would not normally do so. Some think it was due to the Olympics. Whatever the reasons, I still hold up hope against hope that the new year will bring more referrals than last year.
I do think that with more people leaving the program and with more people adopting SN, the expected wait will decrease at least slightly for those reasons alone.
I never really expected 24 months even though thats what we were told. However, I'm still banking on 4 years here, till I'm proven wrong.

[STEPHANIE1975]

we have been waiting 3 years since our LID. We knew it would be long so we also did a second adoption while waqiting on China. We adopted our wonderful son from Guatemal. and we should be soon geting our daughte3r from China. If you want to get a child soon then look into something else. But there is a wait for China and don't belive the rumors just look at dates and facts. It is going to be a while. good luck and just be comfortable with the decision you make

[Ben345]

Ashmilf- I'm a jayhawk!!

Thanks for your honest opinions, I really appreciate it. We will stay in the program no matter what, simply because its something we want to do. I guess the good news is we have plenty of time to pursue other options while we wait. I guess I'm just a little put off by my agencies negligence to tell me the 'worst case scenario'. I was always under the impression that 3 years would be worst case.

We signed up to accept twins, if available. Here's to hoping for the best.

[Trace7]

Originally Posted by Ben345

Ashmilf- I'm a jayhawk!!

Thanks for your honest opinions, I really appreciate it. We will stay in the program no matter what, simply because its something we want to do. I guess the good news is we have plenty of time to pursue other options while we wait. I guess I'm just a little put off by my agencies negligence to tell me the 'worst case scenario'. I was always under the impression that 3 years would be worst case.

We signed up to accept twins, if available. Here's to hoping for the best.

I think that's a great idea - to stay in the program and pursue other options while you wait. We have friends who have a December 2007 LID, and they recently found out they are pregnant and I am so happy for them.

I think as long as I had other options to pursue while waiting, then I would consider getting in the China line. But if I were waiting for my first child that entire long exruciating time, then I would not.

Good luck to you!! And I hope you get your twins one day!!!!!!!

[ashmilf]

Originally Posted by Ben345

Ashmilf- I'm a jayhawk!!

Rock Chalk!!