We have joined CCAI's waiting child program.

We took a big step in the adoption of Norah today by sending in our waiting child checklist. We have always talked about if we were to adopt a second time from China that we would adopt a special needs child. After much research and having talked to many people in the China adoption community who have adopted SN kids we have decided that we will send in our checklist to CCAI for a waiting (special needs) child. CCAI has a program where you fill out a medical check list on what special needs your family is open to and then if they receive information on a child with a special need that is on your list they will call you and give you some information on that child. If you want more information on that particular child then they will send you a more detailed history which will help you decide if you are willing to adopt that child.

We will still be in the traditional adoption program at the same time so that if they do not end up matching us with a child in the waiting child program then we will still receive a referal for a child through the traditional program. CCAI trys to go through all the medical checklists in the order they were received and match kids with people according to the specials needs that they are willing to consider. Right now ,if you are requisting a SN girl, they are working on check list from March and April so if you do the math, and I admit I have, then we might get a call some time in March of 2007. However, here lies the rub, I said they try to match in order of when the checklist comes in but if you are the only one that is open to a certin SN, even if you just sent in your paperwork they will call you. Because of this you can get a call at anytime, you just dont know. CCAI's ultimate goal is to find homes for the waiting children in the program and just because you haven't been in the program as long they are not going to let a file go back to CCAA. They are going to call the first person open to adopting the child with that particular need. In my opinion this is best for the kids that they are trying to find homes for and I support it whole heartidly. If you think you might be interested in this program you can go to the CCAI link at the top of the page. If you would like to research a SN go to www.medlineplus.com and look it up under the the medical encyclopedia, it will give you alot of information and will tell you what might be linked to certain conditions, what the prognosis is, what disease might be related to, ect. Like did you know that 1 in 1000 caucations are born with cleft lip. This will help you deceide what you can/are willing to handle. I would recommend that if you get information on a specific child that you talk directly to a physician/specailist or 2 in that field, this will allow you to make an informed decision for you, the child, and your family. This is a life long commitment don't take it lightly.
Glen