I called up ICAS yesterday to see where our file was and to ask a question about an employment letter that i need to have signed being that my boss. He is away for all of Jan and i wanted to be prepared by having it signed before he leaves.
I also asked what is happenign with our file.
So we shouold see it on Janurary 24th 2008 (seems still like a long time) but what can you do..
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Foreign adoptions from China fall
China shedding adoption stigma, may tighten rules
Monday, December 03, 2007
Our File is in...
Got a call from Lynda (our SW) she sent our file in last night and has given us a glowing endorsement yippeeee.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
News from CCAA
There are currently 30,000 dossiers waiting in china to be match
(30,000 families awaiting a child)
The CCAA recieves 500-600 dossiers a month
decreased from 1600-2000 before the law changes in May-07)
80-120 files are requested to be closed each month (people dropping out)
the peak wait time will be april 2007....
(30,000 families awaiting a child)
The CCAA recieves 500-600 dossiers a month
decreased from 1600-2000 before the law changes in May-07)
80-120 files are requested to be closed each month (people dropping out)
the peak wait time will be april 2007....
Domestic adoptions in china
http://research-china.blogspot.com/2006/01/domestic-adoption-in-chinas-orphanages.html
why are girls abandoed in china
If you interested this link has some interesting thoughts ...
http://research-china.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-girls-are-abandoned-in-china.html
As adoptive parents, we often wonder what motivated the birth parents of our children to abandon them. In the course of my research, I have asked the opinion of scores of couples, orphanage directors, taxi drivers, and anyone else that I think might have an idea of why they feel it is happening. One common answer emerges, although the problem is admittedly complex.
In addition to providing family planning counseling, the local Family Planning offices are responsible for promulgating the “one-child” policy to the citizens of their jurisdiction. Public billboards promoting the policy are ubiquitous in China’s countryside. Although the billboards, wall murals, and hillside slogans generally promote the one-child policy, frequently they also address the issue of female abandonment. A survey of these specific messages provides one with an idea of what the local officials feel are the main reasons for child abandonment. Combining the themes of the family planning propaganda with the anecdotal evidence collected from average citizens, a clear hierarchy of reasons for abandonment emerges.
It is important to keep a few things in mind when drawing assumptions regarding this topic. First, the economic situation is changing rapidly in China. Twenty years ago, economic pressures relating to having a second child (medical attention, schooling expenses, governmental fines imposed for second children) were much different than today. Most families have seen their incomes increase dramatically in the last 10 years, even in the rural countryside. Increased economic opportunities have dramatically altered the intrinsic worth of girls in China also.
Second, societal attitudes are also changing. As China embraces Western culture, what I term "Chinese traditionalism" is on a decrease. Especially among the youth and young adults, strict observance of Chinese tradition is waning. Cultural biases are also changing, and this has dramatic implications when it comes to attitudes about girls.
Thus, we must be careful when looking at statistics and anecdotal evidence from the 80s and 90s. My observations are limited to conditions and attitudes today, and might not be applicable to conditions and motivations prominent ten or more years ago.
The Family Planning propaganda regarding abandonment is almost universal in it’s message: “Boy or girl, it is the same -- Both can carry on the family name.” This message is by far the most prominent when one studies the “official” message from the Chinese government.
It is important to realize that in China a woman doesn’t change her name when she marries. The issue of passing on the family names relates to the children that the married couple will have. In almost all situations, the children of a married couple will be known by, and will carry, the family name of the father.
In discussing this topic with young marrieds, I have yet to find a young husband or wife that feels the family name is important enough to abandon their daughter. When I ask if their parents feel similarly, I often discover that the attitudes of the older generation are not the same. In fact, especially among the paternal grandparents, the desire to have a male child to continue the family name is most strong. Interviews with many couples convince me that the primary pressure to abandon originates with the parents of the father.
This conclusion is re-enforced by the Family Planning propaganda, as well as anecdotal evidence from international adoptions. The example of the family planning mural I saw in Lianjiang, Guangdong Province (see above) clearly illustrates the problem of grand-parent attitudes towards female children. Thus, it is probable that the Family Planning messages are aimed primarily at the grand-parents in China, not the parents themselves. In my discussions with many young parents, I see very little preference for boy children.
When analyzing the finding ads from the various orphanages in China, a trend emerges: fewer and fewer girls are being found. This trend is almost universal across China, with a few exceptions.
It is of course dangerous to stereotype the multitude of reasons why a family might decide it in the best interest to abandon their daughter. As with any situation, each family is unique in their economic, cultural and familial standing. But broad generalizations can nevertheless be made. Minority factors include a complete lack of medical insurance among China's poorest families, resulting in wanted children being abandoned due to perceived or actual medical conditions. Lack of financial resources to educate register (government imposed fees) and educate a child certainly play an important role. Bossen speculates that China's rural land policies play an important role in female abandonment. This governmental policy gives rural families an additional acre of farm land in their village when a child is born. If that child is a boy, stewardship of the land falls to the male child when they marry; it reverts back to the government when the female child marries. The purpose of this policy is to encourage inter-generational stability in the rural villages, and to discourage the migration of families into the urban areas. I have found no families or individuals, however, that have even considered China's land policy in conjunction with family size or make-up.
One point Bossen makes, and with which I agree with, is the misperception we have that the rural farmers in China need a son to farm the land. This is simply not the case. Women today work the farms alongside their husbands or fathers. In addition, China's growing industrial manufacturing base has brought substantial opportunity to women in the countryside. The economic value of male and female children has shrunk considerably in the last 20 years.
In summary: My experiences in researching in China has led me to the conclusion that the primary force behind the problem of female abandonment is pressure brought to bear on the parents by the grandparents, usually from the father's side. Although other factors certainly play a role, they are secondary to "China traditionalism", the belief among older Chinese in the importance of passing on the family line through male children. As the traditionalist grandparent population continues to decline, pressure to abandon will also decline, resulting in fewer and fewer found girls.
http://research-china.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-girls-are-abandoned-in-china.html
As adoptive parents, we often wonder what motivated the birth parents of our children to abandon them. In the course of my research, I have asked the opinion of scores of couples, orphanage directors, taxi drivers, and anyone else that I think might have an idea of why they feel it is happening. One common answer emerges, although the problem is admittedly complex.
In addition to providing family planning counseling, the local Family Planning offices are responsible for promulgating the “one-child” policy to the citizens of their jurisdiction. Public billboards promoting the policy are ubiquitous in China’s countryside. Although the billboards, wall murals, and hillside slogans generally promote the one-child policy, frequently they also address the issue of female abandonment. A survey of these specific messages provides one with an idea of what the local officials feel are the main reasons for child abandonment. Combining the themes of the family planning propaganda with the anecdotal evidence collected from average citizens, a clear hierarchy of reasons for abandonment emerges.
It is important to keep a few things in mind when drawing assumptions regarding this topic. First, the economic situation is changing rapidly in China. Twenty years ago, economic pressures relating to having a second child (medical attention, schooling expenses, governmental fines imposed for second children) were much different than today. Most families have seen their incomes increase dramatically in the last 10 years, even in the rural countryside. Increased economic opportunities have dramatically altered the intrinsic worth of girls in China also.
Second, societal attitudes are also changing. As China embraces Western culture, what I term "Chinese traditionalism" is on a decrease. Especially among the youth and young adults, strict observance of Chinese tradition is waning. Cultural biases are also changing, and this has dramatic implications when it comes to attitudes about girls.
Thus, we must be careful when looking at statistics and anecdotal evidence from the 80s and 90s. My observations are limited to conditions and attitudes today, and might not be applicable to conditions and motivations prominent ten or more years ago.
The Family Planning propaganda regarding abandonment is almost universal in it’s message: “Boy or girl, it is the same -- Both can carry on the family name.” This message is by far the most prominent when one studies the “official” message from the Chinese government.
It is important to realize that in China a woman doesn’t change her name when she marries. The issue of passing on the family names relates to the children that the married couple will have. In almost all situations, the children of a married couple will be known by, and will carry, the family name of the father.
In discussing this topic with young marrieds, I have yet to find a young husband or wife that feels the family name is important enough to abandon their daughter. When I ask if their parents feel similarly, I often discover that the attitudes of the older generation are not the same. In fact, especially among the paternal grandparents, the desire to have a male child to continue the family name is most strong. Interviews with many couples convince me that the primary pressure to abandon originates with the parents of the father.
This conclusion is re-enforced by the Family Planning propaganda, as well as anecdotal evidence from international adoptions. The example of the family planning mural I saw in Lianjiang, Guangdong Province (see above) clearly illustrates the problem of grand-parent attitudes towards female children. Thus, it is probable that the Family Planning messages are aimed primarily at the grand-parents in China, not the parents themselves. In my discussions with many young parents, I see very little preference for boy children.
When analyzing the finding ads from the various orphanages in China, a trend emerges: fewer and fewer girls are being found. This trend is almost universal across China, with a few exceptions.
It is of course dangerous to stereotype the multitude of reasons why a family might decide it in the best interest to abandon their daughter. As with any situation, each family is unique in their economic, cultural and familial standing. But broad generalizations can nevertheless be made. Minority factors include a complete lack of medical insurance among China's poorest families, resulting in wanted children being abandoned due to perceived or actual medical conditions. Lack of financial resources to educate register (government imposed fees) and educate a child certainly play an important role. Bossen speculates that China's rural land policies play an important role in female abandonment. This governmental policy gives rural families an additional acre of farm land in their village when a child is born. If that child is a boy, stewardship of the land falls to the male child when they marry; it reverts back to the government when the female child marries. The purpose of this policy is to encourage inter-generational stability in the rural villages, and to discourage the migration of families into the urban areas. I have found no families or individuals, however, that have even considered China's land policy in conjunction with family size or make-up.
One point Bossen makes, and with which I agree with, is the misperception we have that the rural farmers in China need a son to farm the land. This is simply not the case. Women today work the farms alongside their husbands or fathers. In addition, China's growing industrial manufacturing base has brought substantial opportunity to women in the countryside. The economic value of male and female children has shrunk considerably in the last 20 years.
In summary: My experiences in researching in China has led me to the conclusion that the primary force behind the problem of female abandonment is pressure brought to bear on the parents by the grandparents, usually from the father's side. Although other factors certainly play a role, they are secondary to "China traditionalism", the belief among older Chinese in the importance of passing on the family line through male children. As the traditionalist grandparent population continues to decline, pressure to abandon will also decline, resulting in fewer and fewer found girls.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Social Work Visit 4 (the last one)
We had out last SW visit last night, I feel so gradeful that Lynda has been so easy to talk to and these meetings have been really easy.
The interview was our longest yet taking 4 hours and Lynda leaving at 11.30pm last night !
But she was and is really lovely and told us that she has no problems at all with our application and that she thinks we are perfect (or words to that effect) and she would have no problem recommding us.
So we will see now how long it takes for the report to be written and submitted to ICAS and then wait for approval?
The interview was our longest yet taking 4 hours and Lynda leaving at 11.30pm last night !
But she was and is really lovely and told us that she has no problems at all with our application and that she thinks we are perfect (or words to that effect) and she would have no problem recommding us.
So we will see now how long it takes for the report to be written and submitted to ICAS and then wait for approval?
Friday, November 09, 2007
I am scared but dont tell Darren
Just got some news of the China Rumour Queen site, where all sorts of goss is posted about the China adoption program. There has been lots of talk about China decreasing and query closing it's program as the stats below show.
U.S. adoptions from China
2004 7,044
2005 7,906
2006 6,520
This of course is causing panick (in me to) in alot of people.
The info below came from a American adoption agency explaining the decrease in the availability of Chinese children
November 8th, 2007
Abandonment is down. Farmers and low income city residents who have one female child get nationwide medical and retirement insurance. This is part of a drive to try to balance the female population.
Some orphanages still have many children. The agency reporting seems to think that in some cases this is because the orphanage directors saw other orphanage directors face severe punishment in the Hunan scandal.
Some orphanage directors do keep kids just to keep the orphanage open, or to keep receiving government funding. But some orphanage directors are acting in the best interest of the children in their care and are working to place all of the children that they can place.
The Civil Affairs Ministry began requiring police reports documetning a child’s abandonment status and this has caused more work for the SWI’s and the local police departments.
Domestic adoption is up. The average “donation” paid for a domestic adoption is close to $6,000. Plus the costs to prepare paperwork are not as expensive. (I’m not sure this is the case in all provinces, as I’m aware of an orphanage where the total costs to adopt domestically are around 2500 yuan which is around $330. Perhaps the higher fee involves those who go through the CCAA instead of going straight to the orphanage? I’m sure that $6,000 is there in some cases or the agency would not have reported it. It really bothers me that there seems to be this “competition” between domestic and IA though. If domestic adoption can handle the orphan population then there should not be IA. If domestic can not, then there should be IA. And cost should not come into play. From what I’ve been told, domestic adoption is indeed up, but not in enough numbers come close to emptying the orphanages, so IA is still needed. Both should be able to co-exist without monetary competition. )
In regards to the Olympics, the agency feels that China is of the mind to just not rock the boat about anything until the Olympics are over. Their priority is to finish the Olympics with no problems cropping up. They are not going to try to force an SWI to send files now because it’s safer to do nothing and not risk drawing negative attention to the program. (
The agency feels that the CCAA does care about the wait, but they are not as powerful as we think they are. They are at the mercy of the provinces and orphanages right now, they get whatever is sent to them and cannot demand more.
The CCAA was created in 1996 with a workload of 3,000 placements a year. China wanted to send less babies than South Korea and Russia. In 1997 the CCAA placed more than South Korea and there were discussions about it. China became proud that families liked their children, and the number was raised to more than 10,000.
China is the only country who places mostly abandoned children. Other countries place children with known birth parents or extended families. As China develops, their IA program may evolve into a system similar to that of other countries. This will likely take a while, but there is a good chance that it will happen.
Families who do not mind waiting will get a referral. The wait will be four years, worst case scenario. The agency is clear that they trust these statements.
Icks
U.S. adoptions from China
2004 7,044
2005 7,906
2006 6,520
This of course is causing panick (in me to) in alot of people.
The info below came from a American adoption agency explaining the decrease in the availability of Chinese children
November 8th, 2007
Abandonment is down. Farmers and low income city residents who have one female child get nationwide medical and retirement insurance. This is part of a drive to try to balance the female population.
Some orphanages still have many children. The agency reporting seems to think that in some cases this is because the orphanage directors saw other orphanage directors face severe punishment in the Hunan scandal.
Some orphanage directors do keep kids just to keep the orphanage open, or to keep receiving government funding. But some orphanage directors are acting in the best interest of the children in their care and are working to place all of the children that they can place.
The Civil Affairs Ministry began requiring police reports documetning a child’s abandonment status and this has caused more work for the SWI’s and the local police departments.
Domestic adoption is up. The average “donation” paid for a domestic adoption is close to $6,000. Plus the costs to prepare paperwork are not as expensive. (I’m not sure this is the case in all provinces, as I’m aware of an orphanage where the total costs to adopt domestically are around 2500 yuan which is around $330. Perhaps the higher fee involves those who go through the CCAA instead of going straight to the orphanage? I’m sure that $6,000 is there in some cases or the agency would not have reported it. It really bothers me that there seems to be this “competition” between domestic and IA though. If domestic adoption can handle the orphan population then there should not be IA. If domestic can not, then there should be IA. And cost should not come into play. From what I’ve been told, domestic adoption is indeed up, but not in enough numbers come close to emptying the orphanages, so IA is still needed. Both should be able to co-exist without monetary competition. )
In regards to the Olympics, the agency feels that China is of the mind to just not rock the boat about anything until the Olympics are over. Their priority is to finish the Olympics with no problems cropping up. They are not going to try to force an SWI to send files now because it’s safer to do nothing and not risk drawing negative attention to the program. (
The agency feels that the CCAA does care about the wait, but they are not as powerful as we think they are. They are at the mercy of the provinces and orphanages right now, they get whatever is sent to them and cannot demand more.
The CCAA was created in 1996 with a workload of 3,000 placements a year. China wanted to send less babies than South Korea and Russia. In 1997 the CCAA placed more than South Korea and there were discussions about it. China became proud that families liked their children, and the number was raised to more than 10,000.
China is the only country who places mostly abandoned children. Other countries place children with known birth parents or extended families. As China develops, their IA program may evolve into a system similar to that of other countries. This will likely take a while, but there is a good chance that it will happen.
Families who do not mind waiting will get a referral. The wait will be four years, worst case scenario. The agency is clear that they trust these statements.
Icks
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Melbourne Cup Day
Well Melbourne Cup Day for us adopters was not that much fun, i think Lollie enjoyed it more than anyone.I took her to the park for a swim and as we had had melbournes average rain fall for october on sat and sunday the creek was clean and full and she loved it.
The i had to clean out the shed as everything that is in our back room and is dangerous needs to go out the back into the shed, so that the social worker can sign off our house as being safe!!
So i spent my day cleaning and moving and creating a massive pile of rubbish that needs to go to the tip. The things you need to do. Luckily we as far along as we are otherwise she would not be ablt to sign off our paperwork and it would not be able to go to China. So maybe it is lucky that it has taken as long as it has to get to here. ..
Monday, November 05, 2007
Social Work Visit 3
On Saturday we had our third social work visit.
The first was with both Darren and I and covered mainly information on us, our relationship, how we met and got to where we are, the roles we play, how we decided on adoption etc.
The second visit was for Darren and she spoke to him all about his childhood, upbringing, relationships with my family.
The Third visit mine, was the same as Darren's we talked allot about my upbringing, where i grew up, memories, relationships with family and Darren, stuff like that alot of the stuff that was covered in my life story questions so there was no sup rises. The social worker Lynda is young and really easy to talk to so before i knew it we had talked for 2 hours.
Just one session to go now and we wait for the home study report to be accepted and we are then able to send our file to China...
The first was with both Darren and I and covered mainly information on us, our relationship, how we met and got to where we are, the roles we play, how we decided on adoption etc.
The second visit was for Darren and she spoke to him all about his childhood, upbringing, relationships with my family.
The Third visit mine, was the same as Darren's we talked allot about my upbringing, where i grew up, memories, relationships with family and Darren, stuff like that alot of the stuff that was covered in my life story questions so there was no sup rises. The social worker Lynda is young and really easy to talk to so before i knew it we had talked for 2 hours.
Just one session to go now and we wait for the home study report to be accepted and we are then able to send our file to China...
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Adoptive parents grapple with race, culture and growing up
Check out this link to an article which discusses
the challeges of raising a racially different child.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4588066/
the challeges of raising a racially different child.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4588066/
Adoption in Australia
Australia Adoption Statistics
2005/06 There were 576 austrlaia adoption, 2% decrease from 2005/05
73% intercounty
16% Known adoptions
10% Local
76% of all adoption the children were aged <5years and 55% were female.
Highest rate of adoption were in ACT, NT, TAS
NSW, Queensland adn Victoria are the biggest stated but had the lowest rates per 100, 000 population.
Intercountry Adoption
The numbers on international adoptions have triples in last 25 years
127 in 1980-81 to
421 in 2005-06
representing 73% of all adoptions
2005/6 saw a 3% decline since the previous 12 months this is thought to be due to a 17% decrease in China adoptions.
China
There were 110 China adoptions with 25 going to Victoria families.
Adoptive Families
The Average age of adoptive families in >35years and older with 2/3rd being >40.
95% are married and 52% of adotpive families have no other children
want more info?
Check out http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/cws/aa05-06/aa05-06.pdf
China Adoption Program
Intercountry adoptions started in the People Republic of China (PRC) in around 1988. The USA immigration records show that 12 adoption of children from China occured that year. Historically adoption has been somewhat of a taboo subject in China, and subsequently the fist Chinese Adoption Legislation was passed only in April 1992. Since then the intercountry adoption program has grown considerably. During the fiscal year of 2005, the US department of state reported that 7906 America Immigration Visa's were processed for orphaned children being adopted by America Families. In Australia, during the 2004/2005 finical year, a record of 434 intercountry adoptions occurred, including the adoption of the 140 children from China.
The one child poly has a direct influence on the numbers of children abandoned in the PRC. The policy varies from province to province. However, it is reasonable to say that in the major cities it is strcilty observed. In some provinces families are allowed two children and in others families may have girls until the first son is born. This results combined with a cultural preference to have a son and to maintain bloodlines means that many children are abandoned at birth-mainly girls or children with a disability. Children born out of wedlock or from parents with social/ and or mental health issues are also likely to be placed fro adoption.
There are various figures given out of the number in institutions in the PRC. The China Centre for Adoptipn Affairs (CCAA) indicate that the majority (90%) of children in children's welfare institutions have a disability and are not placed for adoption. Many families in the PRC pay for their disabled children to be cared for by the children's welfare institutions.
Some domestic adoptions are done in the PRC. Recent changes to Chinese adoption law make it easier for domestic adoptions to occur. The CCAA believe number of domestic adoptions will increase in the future. It is difficult to establish reliable statistics for domestic adoption in China, however various sources state that domestic adtopion levels are currently equal to Intercountry Adoption levels, and that the PRC aim toward undertaking 8 domestic adoption to each international adoption.
The PRC is sensitive about public criticism of their management of children's welfare institutions. The screening of a 60 minutes program in 1995 and a report on the Shanghai Children Welfare institutions being closed to foreigners. Conditions in orphanges are reported to have improved significantly over the past decade, although the standard of care across welfare institutions varies quiet badly in line with regional wealth and poverty.
According to Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) nations wide:
2000 to 20001 there were 15 children adopted from China (1 male and 14 females)
2001 to 2002 there were 39
2002 to 2003 there were 46 children
2003/2004 there were 112 children adopted from China.
2004/2005 There were 110
There have been a small number of boys placed with Australia Adoptive Parent, but the majority of children requiring adoption are girls. In 2006 CCAA advised that they have very limited need for placements for health children ageed 2-6years. Currently CCAA will only consider adoption applicants approved to provide homes for health childre aged 2 years and under,older children (+6, and special needs children.
For Australia Statistics oand Information on Intercountry adoption log onto the Australia Insitute of Health and Welfare website : http://www.aihw.gov.au/
Intercountry Adoption
The concept of intercountry adoption has it's origin in the aftermath of World Wars, but particular after World War II, when the disruption of families in war-torn countries resulted in large number of abandoned and ophaned children. Children from Germany, Greece and the Baltic States were sent by religious organisations for adoption in other European countries and in the USA.
From 1953 large numbers of orphaned or abandoned children from the Korean war were adopted overseas. In Australia, however, intercountry adoption is a realtively recent practice; prior to 1975 there were few intercountry adoptions. It only became a recognised avenue of adoption following the airlift in 1975 of Vietnamese war orphans. Since then adoption of children from Aisa and Latin America has become well established in Australia.
Intercountry adoption has endured as a response to the needs of children orphaned abandoned or reliquished because of military confilict, poverty and political policy, and stigmas attached to illegitimacy, disablement and mixed race.
Since the 1970''s momentum has overtaken the orginial impetus for intercountry adoption. Econimic, demographic, cultural and political changes in Australia in the past thirty years have resulted in fewer unwanted births and less pressure to reliquish ex-nuptual children for adoption. Additionally, social changes have lead to many people waiting later in life to begin establishing their family, and consequently, infertility is increasing and being discovered at a later age.
The two-fold effect of these factors is a marked decrease in the number of Australian born children for adoption and a significant increase in the number of people wanting to adopt. As a result, increasing numbers of couples and indivduial have turned to intercountry adoption to begin a family or extend their families.
It can be seen, that intercountry adoption is a shifting, evloving phenomenon, responding to both domestic and interenational forces.
Intercountry adoption is a sensitive complex area of adoption. It involves all the issues relating to domestic adoptions as well as a range of other issues. More over, it involves Australian imigration law and policy, the laws and policies of the overseas countries and obligations under international conventions.
Because the children are bing placed internationally and almost always interacially, issues relating to cultural heritage arise. Many of the childrem including babies, are likely to be physically and/or emotionally vulnerable because of early physical and/or emotional deprivation. Some children have "special neds" because they are older and /or have disabilities.
Itercountry adoption has frequently been been associated with intense contravery. At one end of the spectrum , there is a view that it is a form of exploitation of Third Wolrd countries by First Wolrd countries and should be discontinued. It can be argued that intercountry adoption does not provide a solution to the domestic issues leading to adoption and this situation benefits first world countries where there is a high demand for babies. The other end of the spectrun, there is a view that intercountry adoption is a humanitarin act, toward both individual children and the sending countries, and is this a form of oveseas aid; that in first world countries there are high numbers of people wanting to adopt children and it we shound encounraged to develop and expand. There are numerous intermediate positions.
RT hanks to: www.community.wa.gov.au/.../0/DCPGUIAdoptioninformationguide_china_sept2007.pdf
The Story Began
Darren and i have been trying to create a family for a number of years and besides the addition of Miss Lollie we have been a little unsuccessful....
So in on December 11th 2006 we attended the International Country Adoption Service (ICAS) Information Evening held a the department of Human Services to hear about intercountry adoption and all that was involved..
Since this time our time line has been
12th December 2006: sent our expression of interest to ICAS
5th January 2007: we received a letter from China informing us of the decreased numbers of children available in china :(
11th January 2007: Application form arrived from ICAS
16th January 2007: Sent our application in the ICAS
22nd January 2007: Our referees received letters from ICAS
13th March 2007: Letter acknowledging our application and informing us of the 6th month wait for the education sessions
25th May 2007: attended China information evening
26th August 2007: ICAS education session day 1
2nd September 2007: ICAS education session day 2
8th September 2007: ICAS education session day 3 yippee
10th September 2007: Life stories (over 150 questions & Genograms for both families sent to ICAS
20th September 2007: Letter from DHS allocating us a social worker
16th October 2007: 1st Visit from social worker (Lynda)
23rd October 2007: 2nd Visit from social worker (just for Darren)
3rd November 2007: 3rd Visit from social worker (just for Kellie)
13th November 2007: 4th Visit and final visit from social worker Pending
that is the journey so far.. i will try and keep the blog up to date and to also add some info re intercountry adoption
Kellie
So in on December 11th 2006 we attended the International Country Adoption Service (ICAS) Information Evening held a the department of Human Services to hear about intercountry adoption and all that was involved..
Since this time our time line has been
12th December 2006: sent our expression of interest to ICAS
5th January 2007: we received a letter from China informing us of the decreased numbers of children available in china :(
11th January 2007: Application form arrived from ICAS
16th January 2007: Sent our application in the ICAS
22nd January 2007: Our referees received letters from ICAS
13th March 2007: Letter acknowledging our application and informing us of the 6th month wait for the education sessions
25th May 2007: attended China information evening
26th August 2007: ICAS education session day 1
2nd September 2007: ICAS education session day 2
8th September 2007: ICAS education session day 3 yippee
10th September 2007: Life stories (over 150 questions & Genograms for both families sent to ICAS
20th September 2007: Letter from DHS allocating us a social worker
16th October 2007: 1st Visit from social worker (Lynda)
23rd October 2007: 2nd Visit from social worker (just for Darren)
3rd November 2007: 3rd Visit from social worker (just for Kellie)
13th November 2007: 4th Visit and final visit from social worker Pending
that is the journey so far.. i will try and keep the blog up to date and to also add some info re intercountry adoption
Kellie
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