The Waiting Children Program Referral Process

Today we had our conference call with AWAA to discuss the new WC Program Application and Procedures for the Shared/Locking System. It was very helpful to go over the steps and I thought that this information would be helpful to those who are following along on our journey.

Shared referrals typically arrive in groups once a month. Referral calls can occur at any time over the following weeks, particularly in the immediate 1-5 days after referrals are posted. The shared referral system means that referral information is available to multiple agencies from all over the world who can all try to find families for those children. Unfortunately, it is not possible for agencies to know if a child is being reviewed by a family with another agency.

Initial Review
Once a family is matched or requests to review a referral, they will receive a phone call from their Family Coordinator. The coordinator will discuss with the family basic information about the child including their age, gender, and special need. Based on this information, families can request to review the child’s referral or they can decline. If a family desires to review the child’s referral information, they will receive an email with the child’s translated information as well as any referral pictures received. The translated information includes all biographical and medical information received from the CCAA. The initial review is intended for the prospective parents to review the referral together to decide if they want to take the referral to a medical professional for further review. The initial review timeframe is typically 1-4 hours, occurring the same business day the referral was sent to the family.

“Locking” a child’s file removes that child from the shared system and temporarily gives the agency the agency that locked the file sole access to the child’s referral. This means that once locked, other agencies are no longer able to access that child’s referral. The lock is effective for 48 hours. The locking system allows families to move forward with the acceptance steps and paperwork needed to accept the referral. This includes completing a medical review of the referral with a doctor. If a family’s complete Electronic Acceptance information is not submitted within the 48 hours, the child will automatically be placed back on the shared system.

Electronic Acceptance (EA)
Once a family contacts the Family Coordinator to accept their referral, the coordinator will email a family with the next steps. After consulting with a medical professional, the family will write a Rehabilitation and Nurture Plan for the child. The family will sign this plan and a few special needs agreement documents. Once these are received, the Family Coordinator will begin the process of submitting the Electronic Acceptance. The Electronic Acceptance (EA) compiles information from a family’s dossier and their Rehab and Nurture Plan and is submitted on the CCAA website. The CCAA’s Special Needs Department will then review the information and begin the approval process.

Pre- Approval (PA)
Families will receive a Pre Approval (PA) approximately one month after the date of the EA. The PA is a one page letter that informs the family that based on the EA and the general information sent to the CCAA; the CCAA has “pre-approved” the family to proceed with the adoption. The PA is not an official approval since the CCAA has not yet reviewed the family’s dossier in conjunction with the EA information.

Referral Acceptance (RA)
The next (and most important) approval that China will issue is the Referral Acceptance (RA). The RA confirms that the CCAA has approved the family’s request to adopt a specific waiting child. Families will wait approximately one to six months from the time they have submitted their EA or dossier (depending on which one was submitted last) to receive their RA.

Travel Approval (TA)
After receiving the RA, families with an I-600 USCIS approval will wait approximately two to six weeks for the Travel Approval (TA).