about
-- a national newsletter for
China-adoptive families
p................published since February, 1995
China Connection is a national newsletter (on paper) for families who have adopted (or are in the process of adopting) children from China. It is supported by subscription and is not associated with an organization. Spouses and co-editors Betty Burke and Bob Crawford are, respectively, a Licensed Professional Counselor ,and a writer, artist and desktop publisher. The co-editors are the adoptive parents of Clare Lin and Lisa Juanjuan (pictured on the homepage and the linked "photos" page. (Clare Lin hails from Changzhou, between Shanghai and Nanjing; Lisa Juanjuan is from Guilin, Guangxi.) Publication of the newsletter began with the February, 1995, issue. -The newsletter, a bimonthly, on-paper publication, is not continuing publication after the December/January 2008-09 issue. Back-issues are availiable. The newsletter contents generally are:
- news on the China adoption process (timeframes, CCAA changes, INS, travel matters, agency practices,
post-adoption legalities & more)- medical information
- articles on all aspects of parenting China-adoptive children
- Chinese cultural material, including traditions specific to the current season, language and current news
- single-parenting articles (normally also of interest to all)
- references and pointers to resources and information from other sources
- reviews of books and videos (for parents, infants, toddlers, etc.)
- articles on various issues of interest to China-adoptive families
- occasional news from subscribers, notice of arrivals & more
For back-issue contents listing and ordering, please e-mail the editors.
Available: a 2008 monograph of 6 articles on giving our child heritage support.
-- (includes Introduction and brief booklist)
-What's in the 84th issue (current issue):
#6, v14, (December-January, 2008)
- Spring Festival
- The 11th and 12th Lunar Months
- State Depart Updates Information on Adoption
- Editors' Notes and Thanks
- Book Reviews: Once They Hear My Name; The Tso chuan; The man Who Loved China; Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 1
- Language Fact
- Media of Interest
- Visas, Referral Age & Waiting
On this website-- a sampling of
China Connection articles
(These are also listed elsewhere
on the website.)
- "China's amended adoption law"
- "Child Citizenship Act of 2000 Takes Effect"
- "The Need for Chinese Cultural Support for Our Children"
- "Observing Adoption Anniversaries"
- "Care Needed in Making Statements to Public Media"
- "Mongolian Spots (--Did you tell the sitter?)"
- "Roses in Her Hair"
- "Tangram"
- "Tones: the Four Inflections in Spoken Chinese"
- "Dictionaries: English to Chinese and Chinese to English"
Selected listing of articles in
recent and earlier issues
- Adopting a Six-Year-Old (#1, v.3)
- Praise and Self-Esteem--A Pediatric Perspective (medical column) (#1, v.3)
- Child's Social Security Status (#2, v.3)
- Resources for Single Parents (#3, v.3)
- Leaving [a child] at Home (re. travel) (#4, v.3)
- Leaving/Staying (medical column: support for a child not traveling) (#5, v.3)
- Taking a Child to China (#6, v.3)
- A Child From Mother's Love -- Foster Care in South China (February, 1998)
- Readoption (overview) (#2, v.4)
- Adopting Older Children from China -- An Interview (with a family into which four Chinese children have been adopted at ages from 4 to 12) (#3, v.4)
- Language Development in Children Adopted from China (An overview of the process and resources for evaluation and assistance (#4, v.4) (August, 1998)
- How old is she, really? --Why a bone age X-ray won't help (medical column) (#2, v.5) (April, 1999)
- Telling the Adoption Story to the Child (#3, v.5) (June, 1999)
- Starting School: the Decisions (Pediatrician's column)(#4, v.5) (August, 1999)
- Occupational Therapy --Help for Children with Developmental Delay, Motor Difficulty, Sensory Issues (#4, v.5) (August, 1999)
- Kindergarten Adoption Presentation (October, 1999)
- Hepatitis Vaccination Recommendations for Families Adopting from China (medical colum) (October, 1999)
- On Responding to "Why Did You Adopt fromChina" (December, 1999)
- A Visit to FCC-Amity Sponsored Orphanages (February, 2000)
- Adopting a 4-1/2-year-Old (Parents report after being home 19 months.) (April, 2000)
- Implementation of the Hague Treaty (June, 2000)
- Heritage and Ethnicity Affirmation: Do it Later? (June, 2000)
- Multicultural Concerns for Families with Internationally Adopted Children --A Survey of Recent Literature (August, 2000)
- Health Studies of China-adoptive Children. (October, 2000)
- Early Puberty Studies (December, 2000)
- China White Paper Calls for Continuation of One-child Policy (February, 2001)
- Changes in the Revised CCAA Guidelines (February, 2001)
- Some Thoughts on the Homestudy and a Child's Rights (June, 2001)
- The New Adopton Tax Credit (August, 2001)
- CCAA's Restatement of Policies (Aug., 2001)
- A 7-Year-old Comes Home: Adopting Aimee (October, 2001)
- Quota System Announced by CCAA (December, 2001)
- CCAA Exempts S-N Adoptions from Quota (December, 2001)
- Sayintg 'Birthparent' or 'Birthmother' in Telling the Child Her Story (April, 2001)
- Congressional Hearing Held on Process Issues in International Adoption (June, 2002)
- Talking to Children about Adoption (December, 2002)
- What We Tell the Child (April, 2005)
- China SN Findings Reported (October, 2007)
For back-issue information and ordering, please e-mail the editors.
And ... Here, wearing their faerie costumes, are Rose and Lily, in Beijing, daughters of Jacqueline Gindler, MD, (pediatrician and medical epidemiologist) who writes the newsletter's Medically Speaking column. Rose and Lily were adopted from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, each at 4 months of age (in July, 1994, and March, 1996, respectively) through the services of Children's Home Society of Minnesota (go there).
The family relocated to Beijing in March, 1998, where Dr. Gindler is working (for a few or several years) with colleagues at the National Institute for Maternal and Infant Health, at the Beijing Medical University, on research related to birth defects prevention and nutrition.
Rose & Lily
Photos: Jacqueline Gindler
Rose and Liliy's new little sister, Ruby, joined the family in April, 2000.