Common Traditions & Terms Found in the Chinese Adoption Community

* Ladybugs - Believed to be good luck in the adoption community.
* Dossier - The set of documents that represents the adopted family. It includes the medical reports, birth certificates, employment verification letters, police clearances, financial statement, home study, etc.
* DTC - Dossier to China. This is the milestone day when the Chinese government logs in the receipts of a dossier to adopt a child. This represents the end of the "paperchase" for the adoptive parents, and the beginning of "the wait" for a referral of a child by the Chinese government.
* LID - Log in date. This is the date that CCAA logs in your dossier on arrival in China. Our LID is 10/28/05
* CCAA - China Center of Adoption Affairs. That's where the dossiers are processed and the children, who live in China's SWI's (Social Welfare Institutions) and/or foster care, are matched with families.
* Referral - Notification from the CCAA that they have matched a family with a child. Referral information usually includes the child's Chinese name, date of birth, height/weight, a medical report, one or more photographs, and a few notes about the child's nature.
* TA - Travel Approval. This is received when China gives the family Travel Approval to come to China to bring home their child.
* HS - Home study. A home study is done by a licensed social worker who says whether a family is capable of adopting a child.