Terminology lesson

OK, class.  Today I’m going to give a lesson on what the terms I talk in mean.  If I didn’t know what they were, I’d be confused.  This will be your “One Stop Shop” for those answers.  People familiar with international adoption should recognize them.

DTC – This is the date that we sent our Dossier To China.  Our DTC was June 13, 2006.

LID – This is the Log In Date.  This is the date our paperwork was logged into the office of the CCAA.  Our LID is June 27, 2006.  The LID is significant because all referral match dates are based on the LID.  The latest batch of referrals was for families whose LID was May 16, May 17, and May 18.

CCAA – China Center for Adoption Affairs.  They are in the process of changing their name to CCWC (China Child Welfare Center).  This is the government agency who manages all of the domestic and international adoptions in China.  They are the group that we are entrusting an obscene amount of trust in the care of our future child.  In future posts, I’ll reflect on what we’ve been told their process is for matching babies with families.

TA – Travel Approval (called other things in other countries, this is the Notice of Coming to China)

CA – Consulate Appointment.  This will be when we meet with the American Consulate to get the Immigrant Visa for our child.  She (or possibly he) will be considered an American citizen as soon as her little feet touch American soil.  OOO, I can’t wait!!!

SN – Special Needs.  How does one define Special Needs.  There are some things that China defines as a “Special Need” when, in my humble opinion, they truly should not be.  They can range from a visible birthmark to a serious heart defect, from major deformities to being older than 2 years old.  I feel that ALL institutionally raised children should be considered Special Needs.  But, alas, I don’t make the rules.  We are not doing a Special Needs adoption. 

NSN – Non Special Needs.  These children have no known defects or deformities and are less than 2 years old.  We had to write a letter of request detailing “what” we were looking for.  We happened to choose “female child, as young as possible”. 

LOA – Letter of Acceptance – used in both NSN and SN process. In NSN program it is the document that allows you to officially accept a referral. In SN program the CCAA sends it after the LOI and before TA.

SWI / CWI – Social/Children’s Welfare Institute.  These terms reflect what orphanages are called in China.

If anyone has any questions, please raise your hand and I’ll call on you one at a time!  ;-)