[ShivaWolf]

I know I am probably asking way too soon.....but I have thinking about it all day!
Has anyone heard anything about the big meeting???

I do realize that this meeting is NOT the one that decides if adoptions will continue or not BUT it may give some really good or bad clues......


Anyone???
Anything???

This has driven me out of lurker status

[FourAndDone]

I spoke with my agency this morning and they said they felt very positive about it. I didn't ask any questions and they did not elaborate.

Diane
Single mom to 3 boys
PAP for 1 more

[NeshRoo]

My agency also had very positive things to say about the meeting. They wrote us a big letter about it, but I didn't get much from it other than "it was good" VN adoptions will continue".

[brendanod]

Below is one report on the meeting from one of the agencies that was
present.

30 November 2007

Dear Vietnam Families,

Time again for another update on the Vietnam program! First, we want
to let you know that our last five families have been processed under
the old CIS procedure successfully. They have all obtained visas for
their children and have arrived home. Despite some difficulties
stemming from being in country during the transition period at CIS,
they were only delayed in country for one additional week! Our two
families who received the NOIDS on their cases are currently still in
Vietnam, and are still in the process of appealing their NOIDS. We
are aware that many of you have expressed concern about the upcoming
deadlines for extending the bilateral agreement concerning
intercountry adoption between the US and Vietnam. The current
bilateral agreement that is in place will expire in September of
2008. A diplomatic note from each country expressing their
willingness to continue with a new bilateral agreement must be
received by the end of March 2008. The key issue from the US side is
that Vietnam has not complied with one aspect of the current
bilateral agreement. It was a stipulation of the current bilateral
agreement that Vietnam was to supply a transparent list of fees to
the US government. They have not yet done this. They will need to do
this before the bilateral agreement will be renewed. This leads into
the next topic of discussion: the mini-summit sponsored by JCICS that
Susan attended earlier this week. The summit was attended by
approximately 40 JCICS member agencies (like CAS) as well as some non-
member interested parties. Representatives from US CIS and the
Department of State were also present. The primary focus of the
summit was to come up with a list of standardized best practices that
all agencies would agree to, and a list of fee ranges that would
hopefully satisfy the US government's need for the list of fees. The
list of best practices concerning adoptions in Vietnam was created
and is being finalized. It will be sent to all agencies for final
comments and signing. The goal is to submit the list and the agencies
who have signed it to the Department of State by the end of December
2007. The list of fee ranges is also currently being worked on. Both
the Department of State and CIS are very accepting and supportive of
this initiative and have indicated that it will be helpful in the
ongoing discussion about the continuation of the bilateral agreement.
Currently, there are many parties involved in working toward renewing
the bilateral agreement and keeping adoptions from Vietnam to the US
open. We will know more over the coming months, and will continue to
update families as new developments occur. In the meantime, we are
continuing to receive referrals and process cases as normal. The
first batch of I 600s to be processed under CIS's new regulations
have been filed, and we are waiting for those to be approved. There
have been several "ripple effects" stemming from this change in
procedure that we have been working to adapt to. One that we would
like to address in this update is a slight change in the way
referrals are given and accepted. Beginning immediately, when we
first contact you with information about a child, it is not your
official referral. It is an opportunity to evaluate a specific child
medically. You will receive pictures, medical information, and a copy
of the child's birth certificate. We will also provide you with a
list of international adoption physicians for you to find a doctor
that you would like to evaluate the information that you have. You
will then decide if you would like to seek permission from the
orphanage and the DIA (Department of International Adoption in Hanoi)
to pursue the adoption of that child. There will be some initial
paperwork for you to fill out at that point to formally express your
interest in that child. We will pass that paperwork along to our
staff in Vietnam, who will file it with the appropriate offices.
After a wait of around two to three weeks, we will receive letters
from both the orphanage and the DIA that will be written to you,
officially offering you the referral. We will give this paperwork to
you, along with all of the legal documents on the child, including
the announcements that were in the media regarding the child and
minutes from the orphanage officials' meeting when the child was
accepted into the orphanage. THIS is your official referral. At that
time, there will be more paperwork for you to complete that indicates
your acceptance of the official referral. We will also give you
instructions on filing the I600 at that time. We will then send all
of the paperwork to Vietnam. Our best guess at a timeframe from that
point is around 3 to 4 months until travel after the acceptance of
the official referral. We will have a better idea of specific time
frames once CIS as well as CAS have process several cases under this
new procedure. Please keep in mind that while there is come
uncertainty in the process and what the future holds for adoptions in
Vietnam, we remain optimistic and continue to process cases as
normal. We will continue to update you as new information is
received. If you have any additional questions, please contact your
Program Coordinator.

Thank you, The Vietnam Team Susan, Robyn, Trudy, Nancy, Allie,
Christie

[ShivaWolf]

Thank you so much for your replies. It gives me some hope. Today I will send in the 1600A with our home study and the first large payment, cross my fingers and my toes and pray things continue forward in a positive light.

[jpeel99]

You can go to their website and the info is on there.