March China Update

Great News! Wait times are still pretty stable! Current wait from LID (log-in-date) to match is running about 36 months. Just a reminder for everyone - we logged in on 3-22-07, so that means we are probably about 1 year away from our match.

Very interesting newsletter from Josh and Lily (founders of CCAI, the adoption agency we are using) posted on their website today regarding some information from the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs), which is very encouraging, so I thought I'd share an excerpt with you all:

A speech delivered in Shandong Province while inspecting orphanages by Lu Ying, Director-General of the China Center of Adoption Affairs, 1/21/2009

"On February 6, the ChinaCenter of Adoption Affairs mailed a letter titled ‘A letter to Orphanage Directors’ to 556 orphanage directors. Thus far we have received a good response from many directors who have pledged their strong support for international adoption and promised to make finding homes for orphaned and handicapped children their priority. Many directors have offered their advice on how to promote international adoption. We thank all the directors for their valuable feedback. We ask for your continued support for the timely placement of orphans with loving families."
CCAA Web News, February 26, 2009

Obviously, the CCAA is working hard to tackle the problem of the extended wait time. They are putting a huge amount of pressure on themselves as well as on orphanage leadership. These unusually strong and high profile statements are sending some important messages:

1. The CCAA is equally worried and frustrated with the continued expansion of the child match wait time. They know that failure to find solutions to the problem could ultimately lead to the permanent slid of China’s international adoption program.
2. The CCAA believes that many orphanage children qualified for international adoption are not given a timely chance by their orphanages.
3. By putting their reputation on the line, the CCAA wants to make sure that their permission for the orphanages to increase the orphanage donation fee will soon be backed up by positive results – orphanages reporting more children’s files to the CCAA.

We feel very encouraged by this positive news from the CCAA, and it is the first time since we entered this process that we have seen anything quoted directly from the CCAA. The Chinese government is very conscious of what the world thinks of them, and it is obvious from this latest publication that they realize their reputation is on the line as wait times have drastically increased over the past couple of years. Keep praying for us, for the children, and for the other families in process while we all wait to be united with each other!