| Dear CCAI Waiting Families, Finally, Lily and I are back in our office after welcoming the CCAA delegation in Denver and Orlando. We know you are very curious and eager to find out if we have learned anything new from the delegation about China adoption, which we are glad to share with you in this letter. Overall, the nine-member delegation was tight-lipped. Their official response to the question of why the wait is so long was, “We do not have enough paper-ready children.” However, as we engaged in deeper discussion with each official on a more personal level, it was re-affirmed that everything Joshua discussed in the January/February 2007 Circle Newsletter article, "What is Behind the Long Wait in China Adoption," is accurate: an unexpected increase of dossiers, the unexpected Hunan incident, and a lack of motivation and cooperation from orphanage directors. The lack of motivation and cooperation has emerged as the key reason behind the current slow-down and shortage of paper-ready children. Although economic reform has resulted in less abandonment in China (which is wonderful news for the children), it is false to assume that there are no more children in the orphanages. In fact, there are still a large number of untapped orphanages in some key provinces where international adoption is still a new phenomenon. Provinces such as Henan, Guizhou, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia, to name a few, have thousands of orphans in their orphanages. The CCAA is working hard with them by encouraging cooperation and offering international adoption training, hoping more paper-ready children will be reported to the CCAA. However, the lack of motivation is becoming a much bigger stumbling block to the CCAA’s operation. The reason behind the lack of motivation is twofold: First, the international adoption no longer offers the kind of financial attraction as it did ten or fifteen years ago. When China first opened its doors to international adoption in 1992, the Child Rearing Fee, or “donation” as it has been wrongly labeled, was fixed at $3,000 per child, even though many orphanages suggested $5,000 at the time. The $3,000 has never been changed in 15 years, while the standard and cost of living in China have improved and increased dramatically. The very motivating $3,000 fifteen years ago has become much less attractive today, especially when more and more Chinese domestic adopters are able to pay the same amount or an even higher fee to adopt a child. The question of raising the Child Rearing Fee has been brought up repeatedly in recent years by the orphanages. However, due to its political sensitivity and fearing a possible negative international reaction, the CCAA has been resisting such a move. Privately the delegate felt that unless the fee issue is resolved in the orphanages’ favor, they will not see an increase of paper-ready children reported to the CCAA. Does this mean the Child Rearing Fee will be increased soon? Neither they nor we think so. This very sensitive dilemma needs time to be resolved. Second, the ever-increasing demand by the CCAA for more paperwork on adoptive children is also taking the cooperative spirit away from the local orphanages. The orphanages feel that the increased and cumbersome paperwork demanded by the CCAA and the Hague Convention does not match the Child Rearing Fee they are receiving for each placement. The CCAA has been playing the role of the big boss for too long. They have slowly but gradually realized that the good-old-days of sitting and waiting for an unlimited number of paper-ready children are over. They must learn and force themselves to reach out to the orphanages and change from being a boss to a servant. We can tell from our conversations with the CCAA officials that they are trying their best to do that. In fact, in the past 12 months, the CCAA has sent more teams to the local orphanages than in previous years. The delegation never answered the question of how long the wait will become. Their only answer was: It entirely depends on how many children the orphanages and the provincial government send to us each month. The fact that the CCAA sent an official delegation to the USA and participated in CCAI’s fifteenth anniversary sends a strong message that China adoption will continue for a long time and that CCAI is enjoying an exceptional working relationship with the CCAA. These messages are good news for all of us. Thank you again for hanging in there with us. Please don’t give up. In God’s perfect timing, you will receive your match and embark on the unforgettable journey to unite with your long-awaited child in China. Love,
Josh and Lily | 
