The Philippines' ICAB recently put a moratorium on adopting out children three years old and below. This comes after we submitted our dossier in February. That means if any potential parent(s) has requested a child three years and younger, you're likely to wait more than two years. ICAB is still trying to match folks from the last quarter of 2008. We learned that matching parents to kids is basically a 3-tiered process. ICAB tries to look locally in the philippines, then regionally. If no matches are made within the Philippines, it kicks out internationally. Filipino parents (like us) are given high priority, then couples where one parent is Filipino.
Also, the medical committee of the adoption board has requested updated information on A.'s health, including an updated blood profile and another update from his cardiologist. Funny thing is, no doubt 80% of Filipinos in the philippines have cardiac disease and are not under preventive treatment like A. In the end, I suppose most impressive about meeting Lyra Myrna, two fo the ICAB board members, was that the Philippines has a most meticulous system in place for matching children to families. ICAB is certainly extremely thorough in their dossier reviews.
On a crazy note, I need to run around a little this week to get police clearances from Jersey City and Sayreville since my fingerprints didn't go thru a second time with USCIS . . . What a process . . . I'm more unnerved than A. . . But I suppose, that's what makes us work so well together. In our original dossier, we'd requested a child 0-4 years old . . . Apparently that puts you in the long waiting list pool, so they suggested that we explicity say that we'd be interested in a 3-5 yr-old. So many older kids never get adopted because everyone wants younger ones. A. & I have always been open to a child older than 3 years.
Since I've made the decision to do ACS' Run for Dad (click on the title link above for more info) this year, I find myself more teary than usual. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed by yesterday's visit with ICAB officials. Surrounded by current and prospective adoptive parents as well as a couple of Filipino adoptees . . . Finding our way to our forever child is more than a trip across the world. Maybe it's because as my cousins, K. & M., are in the Philippines for their Apong's funeral, they have also found time to take Michael out for his 41st birthday and somehow be in Dad's presence. I've received a number of emails from them since they've been in the Philippines as they've also visited the home that Mom & Dad had planned to be their vacation/retirement abode which more commonly functions as the balikbayan go-to palatio for those vacationing from the States. K. mentioned the tree in front of their home that was planted for Dad and sprinkled with some of Dad's ashes as well as the conversations remembering Dad, how emotional it has been to experience his presence. Not a day passes that I don't remember something about my Dad -- what he would've said, how he would've reacted, what kind of banter he would have engaged in just to push my buttons . . . This upcoming Father's Day Run is for you, Dad.
