15th LID

Yup, didn't think I'd have to go this far when we first began this journey 2 years ago...but that's fine. I'm in it for the long haul. Cheers to a few more.
To celebrate my cuppycake is taking me out golfing! Wish me luck!

Yeah!!! LISA thinks I'm nice!!!! Thanks! I know this award has been around the block and back again so I double tag everyone!!!!

The #1 Question that all my friends and family asks. Here is your answere.
Why it's taking so long.... ?
Well, when our dossier (file) was first sent to China last year, the estimated wait until referral (child match) was 9-11 months. Now it is anywhere up to 22 months and will continue to increase for an uncertain amount of time.
There are several reasons being given by the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) and subsequently, by the adoption agencies:
The first and foremost reason being the increase in dossier submission. Over the past year, it is reported that the CCAA has experienced a 200% increase in the number of dossiers being submitted by agencies worldwide. In any given month, the CCAA may receive more than 1200 dossiers from prospective adoptive families. Because of this, the number of children who have files submitted to the CCAA by the orphanages has not kept pace.
The second reason is that abandonment rates are reported to be down in China, due in part to China's economic growth (and that's a GOOD thing.) Some families have been able to afford to pay the fines that sometimes result from violating the strict birth policies in China. Also, in some areas of the country, the Chinese government has started to offer financial incentives to families to keep their baby girls. This is in part to the growing concern over the widening gender imbalance. Domestic adoption rates within China are up, which is another wonderful development for China's children.
Another reason for the slowdown is because the CCAA is taking extra precautions with the paperwork they receive from the Social Welfare Institutes (SWI's, aka orphanages) as a result of the baby trafficking scandal that occurred in Hunan Province last year. The CCAA is making certain that each child that is placed for adoption meets the legal definition of "orphan," and that the "chain of custody" is definite.