CCAA’s Information System Creates Forever Families, Faster

Children’s Hope families and China’s waiting children – orphaned children who are older or have special medical needs – are all benefitting greatly from the CCAA’s newly implemented, electronic Information System.


What’s different? One Children’s Hope family in 2007 placed a Letter of Intent to adopt a waiting child. The family’s dossier had already been logged in by the CCAA and approved for China’s international adoption program. When they applied for a specific waiting child on July 6, this family’s adoption paperwork was waiting in Department 2. Six weeks later they received their official referral for the child, by way of the CCAA’s Seeking Confirmation Letter. Referral Day!

Fast forward to 2008, under the new electronic information system, another two families, also logged in, approved and in Department 2, both submitted their Letter of Intent to adopt a waiting child on January 23; the second family, on January 24. Just two weeks later, on February 5, the families received their Seeking Confirmation Letter – their official referral – and are set to travel within 6-8 weeks!*

This is very exciting for the waiting children of China as they are brought into their forever family in a much timelier manner.

Also exciting, the same speed has been applied to those families whose dossiers are not yet completed or logged in but not yet approved by at the CCAA. In 2007, these families without a log-in-date could expect to receive their Pre-Approval after submitting their Letter of Intent 4 weeks to 3 months later. In 2008, with the new system - our families have received Pre-Approvals within a day to a week!

“Our families and the multiple-agency kids*, especially, are really benefitting from this new system. The kids, the families – neither have to wait as long to become a family,” says Adoption Program Director Ann Tollefson, with a big smile.

Children’s Hope loves the new CCAA information system for waiting children!

Please note:
• It is too early to approximate timelines of Seeking Confirmation Letters receipt for families not yet logged-in.
• Multi-agency waiting children are harder to place children. These orphans are viewed by multiple agencies concurrently, and in turn are seen by more prospective parents. Six of these children have been placed with Children’s Hope families this month. We are especially excited for these children. Congratulations!