Well today I found out that my dossier for adoption number 2 has not yet been sent to Vietnam. I have been placed on the special needs list and depending on the special need child that may or may not be available, the estimate I was given was approximately 18 months for referral which may bring us to late 2013 or early 2014 for travel....if all goes well of course....and this is what the outside timeline for what I was hoping. Matteo will turn 3 next May so it would be great for us to travel for his sibling late in that year or the next. My dossier has not yet been sent to Vietnam because the agency is only able to send a number of dossiers at a time, even with the special needs.
Therefore we wait.
However this evening a surprise email and a wonderful phone call.....spoke with a family with possible great news from the regular stream program here in Ontario. Looks like some movement as referrals are beginning and some families may be getting some special news this week.
As soon as I can, I will post more details...but very exciting developments and yes much HOPE is definitely in the air....
Hi Francesca, I'm a hopeful single mom to be from the West coast and I've been lurking about different Vietnam adoption blogs. I'm glad to hear things are moving along in Vietnam but I was surprised to read the referral time they gave you was 18 months! That is longer than I was thinking it might be. I've just today finished my home study and I'm sure I will be learning more soon and getting in touch with TDH. I felt like being open to a fairly broad range of special needs would speed things up, however, I can see how being limited to sending a particular number of dossiers at a time would slow everything down. Thanks for the info. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Well, I'm hoping that will be the outside timelines for a referral, and would not be too bad for us as I'd like Matteo to be a little older when we travel...however my homestudy was only approved for 4 particular minor correctible special needs so I might be limited when children become available...one of the special needs I am requesting is a very short list...so depending if children are available then our wait may be much shorter!!...I think it is hard to predict with special needs and hard for them to estimate...but my understanding is that the special needs are moving ahead quite steadily. However a caution that as TDH is not at this time accepting regular stream applicants, they are getting some regular stream applicants who are switching to the special needs program...so that then changes things for timelines, depending on when you get your ministry approval! Good luck!!
DeleteHow do you know which special needs are longer/shorter list? I would like to know that!
ReplyDeleteI think the home study process is probably different in BC than Ontario as I don't require any Ministry "approval" for particular special needs. I put in a list of what I thought I could handle and a list of what I thought I couldn't handle after a lot of research and then some discussion with the social worker. My social worker has never done a special needs or a Vietnam adoption before so I'm glad I'm a researching kind of person. :)
Thanks for the caution re: regular stream. I knew when I started the process that it would be a special needs adoption, just from watching the TDH website.
Hi, I don't know which special needs are longer or shorter, only know that one of the special needs has only a few individuals on that list, however it doesn't mean those special needs will come up...they put you on a list as per when you receive Ministry approval and then depending on the special needs, will start at the top and work their way down...I think Ontario is fine with approving a "general statement" on minor correctible...it was my social worker who only would approve certain ones and wanted us to state them....I realize this might close me off from other minor correctible special needs, but I also wanted to get this done asap....as I mentioned in my previous message...many regular stream families are being encoruaged to consider minor correctible special needs, and because the regular stream hasn't opened and/or is taking so long...some are moving over and I wanted/needed to be on a shorter list rather than a longer list when all was said and done!!
DeleteHi Francesca!
ReplyDeleteWe have just discovered you blog. We are also waiting for a minor SN child from Vietnam. We are supported by TDH Québec.
Your Matteo is really cute. He lets us dreaming a lot because we have decided a long time ago that the name of our son will be Mateo!
We wish you the best for your adoption 2!
Sorry for my english which might be not so good...but I try hard!!!
Marie and Yves
Hi Marie et Yves, your English is great; however, feel free to write in French, I can read and understand it about 85%....I just can't speak it very well or write it.....so excited for you and just read on your blog that you were in touch with D. and that some special needs children may become available in the next few weeks!! That's exciting and I do hope your Mateo is among them!! I will start following your blog and link it to mine also!! Thank you for your message and kind words on my Matteo!!
DeleteYikes, I may have to reconsider my decision now that you say people are moving from the regular stream to special needs. Has the regular reopened? You say they aren't accepting new dossiers so are they just trying to fill the backlog of people caught when they closed for Hague accreditation. To the gal on the west coast, I am in Vancouver if you are interested in connecting.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth, yes I had mentioned this to you. While I don't have an insight into how many families are switching from the regular stream to the special needs stream, I do know that for those who are finding that they cannot wait long, that this is an option. The regular stream is closed to new applicants with TDH and that is precisely because they have a number of families who are on the regular stream lists and waiting. As TDH cannot predict how long it will take for those families to be able to adopt, they felt it was not fair for them to be accepting new applicants for the regular stream when it could be many many years before they get referrals. However for now, the special needs adoptions are continuing to move forward.
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