Waiting Children Program Update

by Maury Reising

We have received information on 30 children with special needs for our current Waiting Children List. Those needs range from congenital heart defect and cleft lip and palate to more challenging needs such as spina bifida; the ages range from 8 months to 12 years. There are still several children available; they are all precious! Please contact me if you or any family you know may be interested in one of these adorable children. Our goal is to locate loving, committed homes for all of them. We have only a few weeks left to place these children before their paperwork will be sent back to the CCAA.

The biggest news since our last newsletter is that we have posted the information formerly included in our Waiting Children booklet on-line now, password-protected. If you would like to access this information, look on our web site at Waiting Children Status List. You will be asked to fill out a short questionnaire and submit it for access approval. Once you are approved, you will receive your password by e-mail. You can then view brief information on each child plus a photo of each child. If you identify a child in whom you are interested, contact me by phone at 888-797-9900 or e-mail me at mreising@ftia.org. We have had an overwhelming response to this change in our process and believe it will better serve our families.

To find out what information is needed to review a waiting child, go to the web site at Waiting Children/Waiting Children from China Program. You will also find information there on the Waiting Children Program in general, including time frames for each step of the process. Another page we have added in the last few months is called China Waiting Children Approval Update. This page includes information for all families who have received a Final Travel Approval in the last year; it includes their Letter of Intent, pre-approval, DTC, and Final Travel Approval dates. It is a good resource for those families who have started the adoption process and would like to see average time frames for each step of the process.

We are always looking for special needs families who are willing to be resources for other families in the adoption process, to give new families additional information on parenting a child with a specific medical need, a child who is older, or a child who may enter a family out of birth order. Families who serve in this capacity provide an invaluable resource for families currently in the adoption process. Also, if you would be willing to be a Sharing Family at any of our Informational Meetings, sharing your adoption experience with families considering or just starting the process, we would love to have you! Please contact me if you are willing to assist in either way.

I continue to thoroughly enjoy working with special needs families and children through FTIA and am constantly amazed by our families' commitment, flexibility and energy. Thank you to all of you; your support of the Waiting Children Program is much appreciated!!

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