We were originally going to talk about cars tonight but our
plan for the blog this week got booted when we received an email this morning
telling us it is MATCHING NIGHT!
My heart started beating a little harder and I thought holy cow, we
could get a call in the morning that Bethany has matched us with a child! Of course…
this is only our first matching night since being LID (see previous blog on the
LID process). The only feeling I can put it to is (for women) when you think
you might be pregnant. But don’t think so… But convince yourself to take a test
anyway. Remember those 3 minutes
of waiting for the line, or circle, or smiley face to change and your heart is
racing and you don’t know if you are going to cry or jump for joy... Those few
minutes are what I have been feeling all day. What I know is that we will most likely NOT be matched
tonight, but something inside is also saying it could be possible…
So now that my focus is completely changed for the evening,
what I want to do this week is clarify exactly what MATCHING NIGHT is and where
referrals come from. If you
haven’t been reading our blog let me also go back and enlighten you what the
word referral means.
What
is a referral?
This is an orphaned child, who has been matched with your family by Bethany
(our agency).
Where
do referrals come from (specifically for the Waiting Child Program in China)?
The Waiting child program is a program for children with special needs, healthy
children are NOT in this program. Children come from all over China after being
placed on a list by the CCCWA.
There are only 2 avenues that our referral can come from:
1.
MATCHING NIGHT- this occurs every
2-3 weeks. The CCCWA releases new
children’s profiles to an online database sometimes called the Shared List. This list is only accessed by licensed
adoption agencies as profiles are released. To put this into perspective, there
are thousands of adoption agencies around the world preparing for matching
night, making this night very stressful for agencies who are trying to find a
profile match for their adoptive families. The whole process occurs at night in
our time zone. Files are uploaded and within seconds agencies must “lock in”
the files that best fit one of their many families’ requests. Usually only a few files are locked in
at a time and sometimes agencies are unable to make even a single match. Children’s
files that are locked in the quickest are usually those with the most
reversible disabilities and tend to be on the younger side, while older
children and children with downs and cerebral palsy may be on the list for
years without ever being locked in for a family. The children on the list are from orphanages all over
China. Sometimes the ability to
get more information on the child can be difficult because there is no direct
relationship between the orphanage and the agency. Some agencies
only use this method of matching.
2.
ONE TO ONE Partnerships-
This is a partnership between a specific orphanage and a specific agency. In this partnership the orphanage sends
the agency several profiles without any other agency having access to those
children. This type of
partnership is more common with larger agencies and is helpful in bringing in a
greater number of referrals at one time, more than the 1-2 children they
typically get on the shared list.
The orphanages partner with only certain agencies and have a signed
contract. Every contract is
different and some agree to send referrals monthly while others less
often. Some agreements also
specify that the agency must find a family for every child before they will
release any more files. This can
be challenging. For example,
imagine if an orphanage sends the agency 30 referrals at one time. If 10 children will have minor
correctable needs (cleft lip/palate, minor heart defect) and 20 may have more
major needs (missing limbs, down syndrome, CP), the first 10 will most likely
get placed very quickly. The 20
with more major needs might take much longer to place. Not until all 30 children are placed in
families will the orphanage release more referrals. The huge benefit of getting a referral from a one to one
partnership is that you frequently will be able to get more pictures and more
information than you would if they came from the shared list.
So as we sit here and stare at what we will call our “blue
line”. We will pray for God’s
divine plan, and specifically for the Child that we believe He has already
picked out for us before the beginning of time. John has informed me that we will NOT be staying up all night…
oh this is going to be hard for me… and that in the morning we will check the
Bethany online portal to see if we have been matched.
Again, I don’t expect to see a blue line but crazier things
have happened!
Please pray for the Bethany social workers tonight, all of
the children who the CCCWA releases to find loving families, and please pray
that I don’t lose my mind waiting for the “blue line”.
Laura