As a part of our new ICAN services, we are excited to announce our new File Review Referral Program! 

Doctors with our medical screen team are experts in the field of adoption medicine who have screened thousands of medical reports. They are among the leading medical professionals in the adoption medicine field.  Many of them have adopted children themselves.

If you receive a potential referral for your family, we can connect you to a physician who can review the child’s file with your family quickly.  ICAN is able to offer you an exclusive price that is lower than what you will find if you go directly through a medical clinic. 

For more information on this service, please go to: http://www.icanwaitingchild.org/node/25.

Being in our late 40’s with three children, we thought our family was complete.  But, during our journey to our daughters from China, we’d met many people along the way who had adopted children through the Waiting Child program.  We thought, “if” we adopted again, we would also take that path.  “If” became “when” and in the fall of 2004, we started watching waiting child listings, looking for someone that seemed right for our family.  On Christmas Eve of that year, we looked at the waiting child listings from GWCA, and there was the most precious little boy looking back at us.  We knew immediately that he was our son.  We researched albinism and felt that it was a very manageable need.  In fact, we had helped to sponsor a child in foster care with albinism.  We began our paperwork right away and brought him home 8 months later.

Matthew was 33 months old when he came home.  He was quite delayed and not yet talking, and he could throw a temper tantrum like no other.  But he understood us very quickly, he was curious about everything, he learned very quickly; we knew he would be okay.  We had him evaluated through early intervention, and got him started in preschool as soon as he turned 3.  Watching his transformation was nothing short of amazing.  In less than a year, he was on target for language and overall development.  And he learned to love and be part of a family. 

What about his albinism?  Well, Matthew IS legally blind.  His corrected distance vision is about 20/400.  He gets very close to things to see them.  He is learning to read in both Braille and print.  We sunscreen him when he goes outside just as we do all of our children.  He sees his ophthalmologist once a year.  He also ice skates, swims, canoes, runs fast, climbs adeptly to the top of any play structure, and slides down the fire poles.  He loves to play with Legos and other building toys, and is a good artist.  Most casual observers do not know that he has any vision issues.  He is in first grade this year and doing well in school.  He also has a great smile, and is a very loving and sweet boy. 

We’ve learned much about vision impairment since we adopted Matthew, and now know that with proper education and the right tools, vision impairment is nothing more than an inconvenience.  In fact, we went on to adopt another visually impaired boy in 2007.

The CCAA has announced they will be adding children to the shared agency list on 4/21.  Great Wall’s Waiting Child Team will be up all night watching the list and looking for potential matches between children and families.  If there is a child who may be a good match for your family, Stephanie will let you know!  Also, please remember for the first month the children are on the shared list, only families with a current log-in date can be considered.

All children currently on the list have been posted for more than one month.  As of today, families without a current log-in date can be considered.  Families must be able to complete their dossier within three months. 

Effective immediately: The CCAA has now asked that all families have a current, completed home study before being considered for a Waiting Child.

For families who were in the beginning stages of the paperwork process, the CCAA previously allowed us to enter a future date for home study completion.  If a family was unable to meet the three month deadline for dossier submission, we were able to easily request an extension to this deadline, which was readily approved.  We are no longer able to do this. Families who are in the dossier process must have a completed home study before they can move forward with a Waiting Child.  Once a home study is completed, a family’s dossier can be completed well within the three month window.  This should eliminate the need to request for extensions, as well as the time a child has to wait for their family to bring them home.  If you are not currently a Great Wall family but have a completed home study, please submit this information to GWCA for our records.

For families who are already logged-in, Stephanie will be monitoring this by checking for your immigration approval.  If you have a current approval, Stephanie will know you have a current home study. If you are in the process of renewing your immigration paperwork, she will be able to check for this as well.  If you have allowed your immigration paperwork to expire and hope to be matched with a Waiting Child, it is recommended you begin the update process as soon as possible.

Last week we notified you of the CCAA’s formal release of their new policy on the shared list.  The wording of the announcement did leave some questions, which we have since clarified with a director.  The two main components are as follows:

ALL new children released to the shared list can only be paired with families who have a log-in date for the first month they are on the list.  If after a month the children have not found their families, older children or those with more significant needs will then be able to be considered by non-logged-in families.

If a family chooses to move forward with a child who is newly listed, they will have 72 hours to complete their letter of intent and formal application for the child once the file is locked.  All children currently on the list still only allow 48 hours.   

Please let us know if you have any questions!

There have not been any new children added to the shared agency list since February 8.  The CCAA will notify all agencies 2-3 days before children will be added, so we can be prepared.  At this time, we do not know when the list will be updated, however there remain nearly 1,000 children currently waiting to find their families.   

Great Wall is now utilizing our online listing to present information about children from the shared list, rather than adding a .pdf document.  Stephanie, our Waiting Child Manager, will be adding more children every Tuesday and Thursday, and will continue to add more as she has time, so be sure to check back on a regular basis!

We have updated the information presented above the listing, so please take the time to review this information thoroughly for information on the inquiry process. 

Please remember, we will be using the individual applications located below the photo listing.  If you wish to inquire about one of these children, you must submit this form.  Email only inquiries will not be considered.  If more than one family inquires about a child, we will review the submissions and will determine where the best potential fit for the child may be.  Please do not be discouraged if the file is being reviewed by another family. We take all circumstances in consideration when reviewing and base the decision on the child’s needs and personality as well as a family’s resources, preparedness, and status in the adoption process. 

If a child’s file is listed as “pending”, this means a family is currently reviewing the child’s file and we are no longer accepting any inquiries for that child.

Remember that this listing is ONLY to be viewed by families who have a current Waiting Child application with Great Wall.  Please do not share or copy any information presented. 

Thank you!

Great Wall China Adoption is a Hague Accredited, non-profit licensed child placing agency who is an internationally recognized leader in Chinese adoption. Great Wall opened our doors in 1996 and have placed thousands of children with their forever family.

Great Wall’s Mission Statement

Great Wall China Adoption is dedicated to helping children in China find a loving and permanent family of their own in accordance with Chinese, U.S. Adoption Laws and Hague Convention on Protection of children.

Core Value
Great Wall believes children should grow up in a setting which offers the children optimal conditions for full emotional and physical development.

Goals
In accordance with our mission, at Great Wall we aim to accomplish three goals:

• Work with the Chinese government in finding homes for abandoned children.
• Assist U.S. and foreign governments to improve both the international adoption process and laws to protect the children.
• Act as ambassadors to educate the public toward building a better relationship between the U.S. and China.