The Paula Zahn controversy

Over the weekend, I read several angry responses to CNN's Paula Zahn Now show on Friday, January 5th, which did a story about China tightening their foreign adoption regulations. Because I read so many unhappy posts about the show, I decided to check out the transcript for myself. Here is a link to it.

According to viewers of the show who have either adopted or are planning to adopt from China, the overwhelming majority felt that a very real and valid story about the new regulations, which could disqualify as many as 40% of potential adoptive parents, turned into a racist debate that asked, "Why don't Americans adopt more African American children?" and stated, "Americans adopt from China because they believe the children will be smarter."

Did the exchange bother me? Not much. Maybe it should have, but quite honestly, the entire reason for having a panel discussion on talk shows is to generate controversy, right? I mean, if they were presenting the story as fact, there would be little reason to ask others for their opinion. Instead of having the panel comment on all of the restrictions, such as minimum length of marriage or income or net worth requirements, CNN chose to focus on the ones that are visible (weight restrictions, discussed by a panelist who writes about weight discrimination) and then turn the discussion to race. In all fairness, CNN has apparently been doing a whole series of stories on race. They did, however, miss the boat on several facts about international adoption that were stated during the program.

We chose China for a number of reasons very important to us...primarily the reputation, fairness, and integrity of its program and the overall health of the children. We considered almost every other country that offers international adoption to the US, including some for which we did not qualify based on their requirements, and some that were not interested in for logistical reasons, including an unknown length of travel or even multiple trips, or health risks that are common for adopted children from that country.

I guess the international adoption community responded back in a very loud and concentrated effort. Letters were sent to CNN and all of the advertisers. Supposedly, there will be a follow-up to the story on tonight's episode. Let's just hope they discuss the real issues with a panel of experts on Chinese adoptions this time.

Two more squares from PA!

Today, we received two new fabrics for the quilt from my grandmother and her brother, my great uncle. These are some cute pastel prints that will be perfect for a baby...so cute!

Rumor has it that there is more fabric on the way...perhaps some with Corvettes? Can anyone guess who that might be from?!?!?!

Four from Florida!!!!

Look at this! FOUR quilt squares arrived in the mail today from the fabulous G family on the gulf coast of Florida. The G family became super friends when we lived in the Sunshine State and we miss them terribly! Luckily, we've been able to see them a few times over the years since we moved. We even met up with them two years ago for a terrific friends reunion at Emeril's restaurant at Universal, and then again the next day at Animal Kingdom. We always said we'd never go to Disney without them!

The G family has two wonderful twins, J and K. Your mom sent me an email telling me about all of your cool activities and we're so proud of you. Gosh, we remember when you were born, and we can't believe how old you are...aren't you like 13 now?!?!? I remember carrying K around as she was having a tantrum at Gregucci's restaurant one night. And J - he used to just wiggle and scoot all around our family room floor! Gosh, I'm getting old. Did you know that before the two of you were born, those of us who worked with your dad started a fun "Name the Twins" game that included entries Donnie and Marie, Sonny and Cher, Bonnie and Clyde...

Anyway, here are their four squares, clockwise from the upper left corner--the angel print was selected by mom S, the Nemo fish are from dad S, the jungle print is from daughter K, and the psychadelic tie dye is from son J. Thanks a bunch guys! Hope to see you soon...

Update from our agency...

Today, we received an email from our agency that confirms the cutoff date of 9/27. They received referrals (matches) for eight families this month, including a set of twins for one family!!! (No, we won't be getting those - you have to make a special request!) The girls were all from the Hunan province. Their ages ranged from 7 months to about 18 months. Most of the children were under a year old.

The families who received their referrals last month are waiting for their TAs (Travel Authorizations). Once you have scheduled your court dates, etc., you get a TA from China and THEN you can book your trip. They expect to travel later in January.

Cutoff date for December batch is 9/27/05!

The cutoff for the December batch of matches was 9/27/05, which means there are only 29 days of applications to get to ours! I remember when there were 20-something weeks ahead of ours, so we really are getting closer. I was hoping they would get to 9/29, which was a day that a large number of applications were received in China, as that would give us a better chance of being matched in late February. Realistically, it's looking like late March is the better guess.

Over the last 15 months since we were logged in, they have averaged matching 13 days per batch, which means we would just miss the Feb batch by a few days. Of course, if I want to really lose some sleep, they have averaged 16-17 days over the last four months. Wishful thinking? Maybe...

The light at the end of the tunnel?

Just to catch you up a bit on how adoption matches from China work...

Matches of babies to their families are made about once a month. Once the matches are completed, the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) ships them all out at once to all agencies around the world. They usually arrive at the agencies a day or two later, and each agency verifies the info (may take a few days) before they start to call families with the good news.

For the past few months, the matches have come out at the end of each month. The matches for December were shipped out late last week and just started arriving at agencies today. Once that happens, the rumor sites on the Internet start to go into a frenzy about the "cutoff date". This date is actually called the LID, or Login Date. It's the date your application was officially added to the waiting list in China. Matches are made in order based on your LID.

As of early December, matches were made for applications through Sept 8, 2005. Rumors today are indicating that matches for this month are going through at least Sept 27, 2005. Our date is Oct 26, 2005! That means that there will only be about 29 days of applications ahead of ours. IF (and it's a very big IF) the matches would keep up at that pace, we could have a match as early as late February. While I hope that happens, I think it is far more likely that we'll be in the March group. Why? Well, the number of applications logged in Sept '05 was lower than average, while the numbers in October were a bit higher. The CCAA doesn't match a consistent number of days each month; they do match a consistent number of applications each month.

Another possible glitch is the timing of Chinese New Year on 2/18. Many business are closed during at least a part of the two week celebration, and many workers take vacation. Last year, the CCAA surprised everyone by releasing matches in early Jan, late Jan, and mid-Feb, but as we have learned during this LOOOONNNNNGGGG wait, there are no guarantees.

Will hopefully post more tomorrow once I know the cutoff date. Because of the uncertainty of the information, I don't trust any dates from the rumor sites until I get the monthly update email from our agency. They send an update to all waiting families after they have made phone calls for the new families that month.

Check this out!

Look what I found! A giant world map printed onto fabric that is perfectly acceptable for quilting. I plan to use this as the backing to the baby's 100 Good Wishes Quilt. And then, I can stitch a red thread from her home province to our location!

There is a Chinese proverb that is often quoted in the adoption world that says "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break."