Adoption Terms

In the process we call adoption, there are a lot of terms and abbreviations used. Here is a list to help you decipher what we and other adoptive families maybe talking about.

Dossier -- This is the paperwork that adoptive families spend months (and in our case over 8 months) gathering. Some of the documents include our marriage license, birth certificates, background checks, etc.

DTC (Dossier to China) -- This is the date that the dossier is sent to China by the agency. After this you wait for your LID. Our DTC was 08/04/2005.

LID (Log-in Date) -- This is the date that your dossier is logged in at the CCAA. This date officially begins your waiting period for referral. Our LID was 09/13/2005.

CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) -- This is the official government agency in Beijing, China that oversees China adoptions. They review our dossier and match us to our daughter and then send our referral.

Referral -- The referral is the paperwork that contains our daughters medical information, social history, and most of all her pictures. Once we have reviewed this information we send a LOI to say "yes" to the referral.

LOI (Letter of Intent) -- This is a letter we send to the CCAA saying that we accept the referral. The next wait is for TA.

TA (Travel Authorization) -- After the CCAA receives our LOI, they contact our daughter's SWI and start making the arrangements for us to become a forever family. They then send us the authroization to travel to China. The normal wait between the LOI and receiving TA is 4 weeks. You uaually travel 4 weeks latter.

SWI (Social Welfare Institute) -- This is the place where our daughter has been waiting for her forever family.

CA (Consulate Appointment) -- After receiving our daughter in China, we then go to the U.S. Consulate to get her visa. The CA is the date our paperwork is to be submitted. Once you have your appointment scheduled, our agency tells us the date we need to be in China.

Forever Family Day (sometimes called Gotcha Day) -- This is the day that we have our baby placed in our arms for the first time and we become forever family.

CHI (Children's Hope International) -- This is the agency licensed by the CCAA to translate dossiers and referrals into Chinese or English. They also make our travel arrangements while in China and provide us with an English translator and guide each day to walk us through the Chinese adoption process.

Chinese Orphanages

It is estimated that there are between 50,000 and 100,000 children in Chinese orphanages. 95% of these are girls, many discarded by government buildings or hospitals. Why girls? China greatly discourages population growth and heavily taxes couples for having more than one child. So, if the family wants to carry on its lineage and cannot afford more than one child, the girl will have to go.
So she is picked up and placed in a local orphanage. What's her fate? Illness? Death? Adoption? Human trafficking? Prostitution? You get the picture.

Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were TWO WOMEN who never knew each other.
One you do not remeber, the other you call Mother.
Two different lives shaped to make you one.
One became your guiding STAR, The other became your SUN.
The first one gave you LIFE. And the second taught you to LIVE IT.
The first gave you a need for LOVE. The other was there to give it.
One gave you a NATIONALITY. The other gave you a NAME.
One gave you a TALENT. The other gave you AIM.
One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears.
One saw your first SWEET SMILE. The other dried your tears.
One sought for you a HOME that she could not provide. The other prayed for a CHILD and her hope was not denied.
And now you ask me, through your tears, the age-old question unanswered through the years.
Heredity or Environment, which are you a product of? Neither, my darling, Neither.
Just two different kinds of Love.

Paper Chase!

List of paperwork needed for our agency:

Letter of petition to adopt
Homestudy
I-171H
Birth certificates
Marriage certificate
Medical form for each parent
Financial statement
Employers letter
Non-employment letter
Criminal background check by StateDepartment
Finger prints for each parent
Passports (copies of picture and signature pages)
Photos of prospective parents, home, and family life
Reference letters, 2 from family members 3 from non-family

Bob, Colette, & Megan