Important Traditions and Terms Found in the Chinese Adoption Community

The Red Thread: "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." -an ancient Chinese belief

Ladybugs: Believed to be good luck in the adoption community. One spring while everyone waited for their referrals, there was a huge infiltration of ladybugs across the nation and immediately following these sightings a flood of referrals came. Or so the story goes...We personally do not believe that there is such thing as "luck," but only what God blesses us with. And with the "huge infiltration" of the stinky bug that "bites", which we call Asian beetles (a cousin to the ladybug?), we're not even that fond of ladybugs!

100 Good Wishes Quilt: To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt." It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. Waiting families often collect the wishes along with samples of each fabric square into a scrapbook for their new child. I'm looking forward for doing this for our daughter!

Dossier: The set of documents that represents the adopted family. It includes the medical reports, birth certificates, employment verification letters, police clearances, financial statement, home study, etc.

DTC: Dossier to China. This is the milestone day when the dossier is sent to China. This represents the end of the "paperchase" for the adoptive parents, and the beginning of "the wait" for a referral of a child by the Chinese government.

LID: Log in Date. This is the date that CCAA logs in the dossier after arrival in China.

CCAA: China Center of Adoption Affairs. That's where the dossiers are processed and the children, who live in China's SWI's (Social Welfare Institutions) and/or foster care, are matched with families.

Referral: Notification from the CCAA that they have matched a family with a child. Referral information usually includes the child's Chinese name, date of birth, height/weight, a medical report, one or more photographs, and a few notes about the child's nature.

LOI: Letter of Intent. This is a letter that the adoptive family writes to China stating their intent to adopt a child.

PA: Pre-Approval. This is what the family receives from China after they have reviewed the LOI from the adoptive family. It means they give the family pre-apporval to adopt the child.

TA: Travel Approval. This is received when China gives the family Travel Approval to come to China to bring home their child.

WC: Waiting Child. A child is put on a WC list because of a medical condition or age.

HS: Home Study. A home study is done by a licensed social worker who says whether a family is capable of adopting a child.