Our Referral

For this child I prayed; and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of him.--1 Samuel 1:27

There are many ways to build a family, and we are fortunate enough to have experienced the joy of a biological child and that of adopted child.  Tom and I would never trade either experience and thank God for the opportunities.  It was shortly after Amelia came home from China that we knew another child was in our future. As we were finishing up our post placement requirements for Amelia, we decided to begin our home study for another daughter.  Our paper chase was completed in December of 2007, and we were added to our agency’s waitlist on December 24, 2007.  The wait began.

We are pleased to announce that our prayers have been answered, and we have received the referral of our beautiful daughter from Taiwan, Lui Pei-Shen. 

On August 15, 2008 at 3:00 in the afternoon, I was at home and had just put Amelia down for a nap.  The phone rang, and it was Tien from Journeys of the Heart.  My initial thought was that she needed additional information, but she quickly mentioned she had good news.  That was all it took for me to start crying.  Once Tien gave me the basics, she told me to wait by the computer and the details and photos would be on their way.  I called Tom at work, forwarded the file, and we opened it together.  We saw pictures of our precious daughter for the first time.  I called Grandma and Grandpa to share the good news; everyone else would have to wait until after the international adoption doctor reviewed her file.  Since I was on the phone with Grandma anyway, I was able to line her up to baby sit Amelia so Tom and I could go out to celebrate. 

We spoke with the doctor on Saturday morning (the 16th), and all is well.  Our little girl is tiny, but appears very healthy.  Pei-Shen was approximately 5 lbs. 13 oz. and 17.25 inches at birth.  She was born in Bade City, Taoyuan County, Taiwan and will leave the hospital at three months of age and will be taken to foster care until her mommy and daddy can come pick her up.

Tom and I expect to wait approximately six months to travel.  Following is a summary of what will occur during this time period.

District Court  The District Court is similar to our local County courts. There are District Courts all over Taiwan with different jurisdiction. Most have family court sections that have authorization to hear and rule on adoption related issues.

The District Court that receives and is assigned the adoption case/petition depends on a number of factors: the birth mother's residence, the guardianship of the child and parental rights at the time of petition, the social service organization's location, etc.

1. District Court Process
a. The family court office reviews the case/petition and a judge is
assigned to the case.

b. Judge reviews and considers the case and schedules a "hearing".
Hearings are handled differently depending on the birth family's situation, the judge's schedule, persons representing the birth family and those representing the adoptive family. The time involved in getting a hearing scheduled depends on the judge's calendar/schedule and that of everyone else who is required to attend.

Hearings can result in:
-The immediate decision to finalize the adoption (though this is
rarely the case) or
- The judge's request for more information or
-Most often, the hearing just provides a judge with more information
about the case and allows him/her to rule on the adoption with confidence. Generally, the judge's decision (final ruling) happens weeks or even as long as months after the hearing.

The responsibility of the District Court is to make sure that every issue related to the best interest of the child has been considered. Though lengthy and frustrating at times, the District Court process protects the child, the birth parent, the organization caring for the child, AND in the end protects us as adoptive parents. When the District Court decisions have been made, adoptive families can be confident that the process was handled with consideration and in the best interest of the child.

2-4 MONTHS

2. Part I of Final Decree.
Once the District Court hearing has been completed and the judge has had time to make a decision to finalize the adoption, he/she issues the first part of the Final Decree. This is a short statement signed by the judge that is forwarded to the parties involved (social services organization on behalf of the adoptive family and the birth family), notifying everyone of his/her decision to finalize the adoption. This first part of the Final Decree must go to each party and there is a waiting period of 10 days before any more can happen to ensure that everyone has been notified of the judge's decision.

2 WEEKS

3. Part II of Final Decree.
Once the 10 day waiting period is up the second part of the Final Decree is forwarded to all parties. When the second part of the decree is received by our child's social service organization, the court process is DONE!

4. Household registration change and immigration requirements.
Before we travel, a lot must be accomplished by the child's social service organization. All court documents and background info on Pei-Shan must be officially translated to English and submitted with certain paperwork to AIT. Also, she must have her visa medical exam which is forwarded directly (unopened) to AIT's immigrant visa office. At some point Pei-Shan’s guardian must file for a household registration change. The household registration is a file located at local government offices in Taiwan that contains certificates and information about each person in Taiwan. Our child's household registration is attached to her guardian's file until the adoption has been finalized by the Taiwan courts. Once Pei-Shan has been legally adopted in Taiwan, the guardian files with the government office to remove the file from theirs and create a new file showing that we are the new legal guardians. The household registration change takes a day or two to a week depending on the placing organization and the local government office.

2-4 WEEKS

5. In Amelia’s words, “We can bring “Baby Taiwan” home!”

Needless to say, we are anxious to get our baby girl home.  Nick is very excited, and Amelia has a picture of “Baby Taiwan” in her room.  Please pray for a speedy process and the health of our daughter.

(In case you are wondering, we have yet to come up with a name.  Let me know if you have suggestions!  Will post as soon as it comes to us.)

 

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