Post-Placement visit #1 Complete!

This past Saturday, we had the pleasure of meeting with our wonderful social worker for our first of 5 (6 for most families) post-placement visits.  For those who are heading to China soon for your own children, these have changed slightly in recent weeks, so I will do my best to share with you the new process (for older children anyway).

First, the number of visits increased to 6.  The first report is due one month after you take custody of the child. The next at the 6 month mark, then one year.  After year one, you will be visited each year on your 2nd anniversary, your 3rd, and your 5th. (Provided your child is not 18 by this time).  In our case, Colin will be past the 18 mark, so as I understand it, we will not have to have that last visit.

We were blessed to have a translator come over to help our social worker communicate with Colin and have a much more productive interview with him.  She also translated a great deal for me and made sure that he understood some things that we had already tried to communicate with him.

Next, we send 8 color photos of him with our family to the agency to include with our report.  Lastly, Colin is required to write (in Chinese or English) a short essay (half page or so) that talks about his first few days with us and his trip to America.

In future reports, we will have to include report cards and medical reports.  Many of these requirements are brand new, but will apply to anyone bringing home a child from China from this point forward.

We appreciate hearing from so many of you and please know that Colin is doing very well.

Angie