Written by Maury Reising

We are excited to announce that we have recently received the updated list of Waiting Children!!! We have information on 30 Waiting Children from Asia. The children have a wide variety of special needs, from minor, correctable ones such as congenital heart defect, to those that are more challenging, such as spina bifida, hydrocephalus, corneal disease and cataracts. We have many children on this current list with congenital cleft lip and palate. Many of the children are very young. The children range in age from 12 months to 10 years.

At this time, we are still working on the translations of the children's medical information. Once the translations are complete, we will post the children's medical information and a photo in a password-protected area on our website. In order to receive a password, families need to submit a short questionnaire. When approved for access, a password will be emailed to the families.

FTIA is in the process of changing the previously issued passwords for the child-specific Waiting Children area on our website; the new passwords provide greater security and comply with new Windows requirements. If you have received a password in the past, you will soon receive an e-mail notice regarding this change. If you have only recently submitted your questionnaire and have not received a reply, you will receive your new password as soon as this transition has been completed.

If you are interested in a specific child on the updated Waiting Children List, please contact me by phone at 888-797-9900 or by e-mail at mreising@ftia.org.

The Waiting Children List page also lets families know what paperwork is needed to review a child's information. At Waiting Children from China Program, you will find information about the program in general, including time frames for each step of the process. We also continue to update the China Waiting Children Approval Update page, so that families who have started the adoption process can view recent time frames between Letter of Intent, DTC, and Final Travel Approval. All families who have received a Final Approval in since October 2002 are listed.

We also continue to offer our families in the adoption process the opportunity to talk with other FTIA families who have adopted a child with the same special need or who is the same age as their child. This has proved to be a great resource for families!! If you would like to serve in this capacity or if you would like to share your adoption experiences at our Informational Meetings, your participation would be greatly appreciated. It is so valuable for families to be able to talk with those who have been through the process and are parenting these special children on a daily basis.

We have also added a new page to the website at Waiting Children. Titled A Child's Plea, it periodically features a different Waiting Child, specifically, one who has pressing medical needs, meaning either the time period to locate a family is nearing an end or the child has a medical condition requiring immediate treatment. A Child's Plea project was created to assist in locating a family for these very special children. Through this project, FTIA has made a special commitment to waive all the agency fees for the family adopting the featured child in this project.

Also, a fund is now in place to assist with adoption costs or needed medical costs for the featured child or for another Waiting Child for whom a donor has contributed funding. This fund is made available through donors who share the same concern as we do for Waiting Children. Through this fund, donors provide some funding to support adoption costs or medical care for a given Waiting Child. We are hopeful that, as a result of this fund, many Waiting Children can quickly receive the care they need.

Our first featured child does have a forever family as a result of A Child's Plea; we are thrilled for her!! A family was unfortunately not located for our 2nd featured child; we are hopeful a family can be located for him in the future. We have very recently featured a 3rd child; her information can be seen at Current Featured Child. Another child formerly listed on the A Child's Plea page also now has a forever family; although not the featured child, a donation had been received specifically in her name. You can view information on previously featured children at Previously Featured Children.

It continues to be a very rewarding experience to work with such dedicated families who are truly interested in our Waiting Children Program and these deserving children!! Besides providing loving and stable homes for these special children, there are families who also serve as resources for other families, advocate for our children and/or make donations to "A Child's Plea" fund. Thanks to all our special needs families for all you do for these precious children; you are an inspiration to all of us!!

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