Because we within the adoption community (inasmuch as there is such a thing as one adoption community) can't get enough of celebrity adopters either (not least because whatever they do in public changes the way people look at us in the supermarket checkout lines), it's probably time for a check-in.

Madonna is insisting that ... more

Just heard through the official grapevine (what is an official grapevine? the unofficial source for news from officials, of course) about a new policy from the CCAA.

It is a policy designed not to test the patience of prospective parents, but to eliminate thems what don't have it.

This is the policy: if you're LID -- your paperwork is logged in with China -- and you get fed up with the wait times stretching out to a year or more before your dossier gets sent to the magic matching room, and you decide to yank your file... more

The Economist, of all publications, has a fascinating story on names in Chinese orphanages, what they're likely to mean and where some of them come from.

And, incidentally, just how very strange some of them are.

Common choices are Dang meaning “party” (the Communist one, naturally), or Guo meaning “country” or “state”. Those saddled with these names face a lifetime of funny looks, or a bureaucratic quagmire trying to change them.

In February... more

There's nothing about this yet on The Rumor Queen, but I've been hearing whispers about there only being two days (or, on the more optimistic end, six days) of referrals in the latest batch from the CCAA.

You can compare that with the more usual span of referral dates included in a single batch on this waiting parent's site.

I say "span of referral dates" because as yet, we have no way of knowing how many actual dossiers this span includes -- it might well be... more

There's been some sort of lingering spring sinus infection hanging over our house, which, as one might imagine, has not contributed to domestic tranquility between the often warring factions of Daughter and Son (son!). The other day, the forces of fatigue and congestion led to a kind of crying match between the toddler, who was armed with a pretty annoying toy whistle, and the little girl, who had been taking a pre-dinner nap on the sofa.

I, being a young man about town, missed the screaming part, and only got home in... more

I haven't actually read 10 Steps to Successful International Adoption - A Guided Workbook for Prospective Parents by Dr. Brenda K. Ueckert, so I can't actually call this a book review.

I know nothing about the book other than what it says in that press release:

there... more

Indiana Readers: an agency in Indianapolis is offering informal seminars as part of their "International Adoption Week".

Meanwhile, most news out of China has been about their athletic successes at the World Championships and, um, related events.

Kelly Scott and her Canadian team showed yesterday they can... more

There's been, of course, lots and lots of press about the new regulations for adopting from China. But not a lot of it comes from Singapore.

Peculiar. I've talked about attitudes... more

In case you haven't been keeping up with Brian Stuy, on his Research-China blog he's running a series on birth parents called China Abandonment from the Inside.

From the first entry, dated March 8:

Over the next few weeks, Research-China.Org will be publishing a series of articles recounting interviews with birth parents who abandoned their children, and the Chinese individuals that found them. These articles will hopefully allow us to gain some insight into the motives and reactions of these individuals. These interviews were obtained by Chinese reporters, and represent a new trend in Chinese... more

In case you were wondering what the people in charge are saying about the tighter restrictions, it's for the good of the kids!

Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo said the rules were aimed at standardizing protection for orphans and were not expected to impact the number of adoptions.

"Adoption of orphaned children abroad and at home is going on normally," he said.

Very little more at that link, as well as over... more