Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Where we are on the Vietnam adoption wait list

I received a very nice, considerate, and informative email from our regional rep in response to my inquiry concerning the expanding wait times, where we are on the infamous "list", and what we should expect concerning our own wait.

According to the email, we are 111 on the list of currently 154 families waiting for a referral. If the list is further differentiated into boy and girl requests, we (having said we prefer a boy) are #59. However, if any of the 110 people ahead of us on the master list who are currently asking for a girl only change their preference to boy or girl, we will be bumped down the list.

The current wait times are 12-15 months for a boy and 2+ years for a girl. The wait time can either increase or decrease depending upon the number of referrals and the frequency of referrals our agency receives. Therefore, it is impossible to say that we will wait longer than 12-15 months, wait exactly 12,13,14, or 15 months, or wait less than 12-15 months.

in the last four months, our agency has only had 2 girl referrals, so the current statistics are in favor of boy referrals over girl referrals, which, if the trend continues, gives us a little bit of hope that we might at least fall within the wait time line quoted to us in January: 12-15 months.

So, that is where we stand right now. I feel better having a better handle on how the list works and where we are on the list. Of course, I had hoped that we were further up on the list, as we are 3 months into our wait, and if we do the math of being (potentially #59) on the list, and say there are 5 referrals a month on average, that puts us at 12 more months for a referral. Within the 12-15 month wait we were quoted, albiet at the tale end of it. So, roughly one year until referral , and 3-5 months after that for travel. Yuck. Lord grant me patience.

But, at least we know more now than we did before. That's worth something, right?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think more information is always better than less... even if it't not the best news. I'm glad your agency gave you a good detailed response. I'm sure it's hard for agencies to estimate time frames but it's nice that they gave you all the information they had.

S. said...

Glad you got information, I always like to know the truth. Sorry you aren't further on the list, I can identify with that feeling!

Kathryn said...

Well, 59 sounds a whole lot better than 111. It's been a while, since they got any referrals, hopefully they'll get a bunch of them in quick progression soon. If that 171-H doesn't get here soon, I hate to think what number we'll be!

Anonymous said...

Sorry the news wasn't better than being #59, but at least it wasn't down in the 100's. At least you have some information now. I always like to know as much as possible so that I don't spend too much time and energy guessing and getting my hopes higher than they should be.

mam said...

I think the other bit of good news you can glean from this response is that your agency won't be "angry" if you ask them for info, as you were concerned they might (and as I always am). So perhaps this means you can increase the requests for info over the coming months if you feel you need it.

I agree; it's always better to know, even if what you know isn't what you were hoping for. I hope things speed up for you, though.

Dianna said...

I'm glad you received a worthwhile response from your agency, even if it wasn't quite the # you were hoping to hear! Agencies that refuse to communicate drive me up a wall. I hope the list moves right along for you.

Emily said...

crossing my finger that referrals keep on coming!

Ange said...

Knowing is much better than wondering...keeping my fingers crossed that things speed up a little for you.

Kathryn said...

The agency just sent an update and they received a referral for a healthy boy, 2 months of age, so I guess you have moved one spot on the list. Now we just need to see some more boy referrals and you'll be able to move up some more. Come on CIS & USPS, I want to see something in my mailbox.

Unknown said...

hi, best of luck to you in the adoption process.

Have you seen this movie? It is a documentary about a woman who had been adopted from Vietnam. It's very good.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303281/

Lynne M said...

Hi Kelly, I just found your blog in a Google search. I look forward to reading more. I know the wait is awful, but its true that having information about the length of the wait is the important part. Extracting information from my agency is so hard. Good luck!

Here is my blog - http://journeytotheson.blogspot.com