[hesabanana]

I am calling on my foster care board colleagues to help us trying to complete Guatemalan adoptions.

Long story short, as the letter below indicates, Guatemalan cases need to be registered with a new entity, the Central Authority, buy 2/12. Chances they will be able to register 2350 cases by then, even while working the weekend, are very slim. If you are so inclined, please send the following letter to your congressmen and representatives, as well as these two contacts at the State Department,
fullergw@state.gov and sheltonbk@state.gov.
Thanks so much for your help....Brenda

As you know, Guatemala passed the Ortega Law last Fall, completely changing the adoption process and making it extremely difficult for Americans already in process to finalize their adoptions. However, an amendment was added to the law, allowing those cases in process to be grandfathered in as long as the case is registered with the Central Authority by February 12, 2008.

Prior to January 1, 2008, this Central Authority did not exist. As of yesterday, February 8, 2008, the Central Authority is finally functional. They are remaining open for the weekend in an effort to register as many cases as possible, but given they are only meeting with five attorneys a day, there is no way they will be able to register the estimated 2350 cases affected. IF THESE CASES ARE NOT REGISTERED IN TIME, THESE CHILDREN WILL BE UNABLE TO COME HOME TO THEIR FOREVER FAMILIES. Further, as Guatemala has no Social Service system, the fate of these children is dire.

I implore you to intervene on behalf of these children. Please contact the Guatemalan government and demand that they extend the deadline on registration with the Central Authority. There are American families anxious to bring them home and provide them with love and stability. Please do not allow bureaucracy to tragically affect the lives of these children.

With deepest thanks,

[hesabanana]

Please guys, please help us out.
I've been a member of this board for almost four years. We've all been through so much together, but rarely have we been in a position to actually do something to help each other out beyond offering support and encouragement.
Please help me.
Thanks...Brenda

[lakin11]

DH and I sent ours. We will do anything we can to help you out! You've done so much for us!
Come on folks, help our friends out! These babies need to be with their families.

[musemoon]

sent the letters :-)

[hesabanana]

Thanks you two....anyone else willing to help?

[stevenstwin]

Originally Posted by hesabanana

Thanks you two....anyone else willing to help?

I'm in Canada, so I can't help that way - but you have my fervent prayers!!

[hesabanana]

I'll take them! Prayers, positive thoughts, good vibes, anything short of animal sacrifice really! We guats are willing to take anything!!!!
Thanks so much Stevenstwin!

[MBelt8402]

Done.... As well as thoughts and prayers.

[stevenstwin]

Originally Posted by hesabanana

I'll take them! Prayers, positive thoughts, good vibes, anything short of animal sacrifice really! We guats are willing to take anything!!!!
Thanks so much Stevenstwin!

ooops...I wish you'd mentioned the no animal sacrifice earlier...LOL Just kidding, of course. ;-)

[punchkin]

We sent ours. Sending prayers and good thoughts as well.

[mellaf]

I am in awe of all international adoptive parents (and hope to adopt internationally in the future someday).

I've passed along letters to all of my MA legislators and the other two addresses you requested.

I have all of you in my prayers for speedy registration!

Mella

[chevyjewel]

I'm not meaning to offend, but why would you put this here, where people are desperate to adopt domestically?

I have such strong feelings about this subject and I'm sure others here do too.

I wish everyone the best but believe whole heartedly that the children waiting here are just as deserving of great parents as children in far away countries do. By spending enormous amounts of money to adopt internationally what sort of message does that send the kids that are waiting in our own back yards that could find their forever families for next to nothing? I can only imagine what I would think if I were in their shoes.

I hope I don't get severely flamed for this but this thread has been eating away at me all day.....

[hesabanana]

I would never flame you....you are entitled to your opinion...we all are, and I appreciate that you expressed yours.
Why would I post this here: I am a foster to adopt parent. I have been a member of this board for a few years. I have many friends and acquaintences here who supported me during my and my family's devastating foster to adopt experience, and even though I felt pulled to adopt internationally, I continue to come back here to support those who supported me, and continue to support me in my path.
I personally do not feel adopting domestically and adopting internationally are mutually exclusive. Lots of members of this board and the forums in general have done both. I began pursuing adopting from foster care for the very reasons you noted. I was blessed to adopt my son but devasted when his bsister was reunited with their bmom one month before his adoption. I was emotionally unable to continue down that path. I may not have paid as much to adopt my older son financially as I have to adopt internationally, but I, my family and my son in particular paid dearly in an emotional sense, and none of us were able to go through that again.
On the Guat board, we recently had a similar issue of concern when a long-time member announced she was pregnant. Lots of members became quite upset because others were offering support and congratulations....they suggested that she should not discuss her pregnancy on that board because lots of folks on the Guat board had struggled with infertility. I disagreed with them for the same reasons I respectfully disagree with you. If this is a community, and I believe it is, then I think we should be able to discuss our other children, whether they are biological, foster, domestically adopted, or internationally adopted.
I know there are thousands of children in the United
States waiting for forever families. I may eventually pursue adopting one or more of them again someday when and if my family has healed and we feel ready. Actually, my license remains current so that in the event my son's sister comes back into care, she can be placed with us. But, for me, adopting children from Guatemala, where there is no foster care aside from that paid for by international adoptive parents, where kids not chosen to be adopted are either left to languish in an orphanage or on the street....I am more than ok with that decision.
Given there are so many children in US foster care, I question why anyone should be desperate to adopt here, unless they have difficulty passing a home study or are very narrow in the criteria they are using to be matched with a child.
I used up my emotional bank with my foster to adopt experience, but am thankful my financial bank could support my two international adoptions.
Again, I am sorry to have offended you, or anyone else. I was simply reaching out to my community.

[chevyjewel]

No worries, you have not offended me. I hope I have not offended you either! I was feeling so strongly about this thread and felt the need to mention my thoughts in case others were also struggling with it like I was. Maybe it's just me that has a hard time wrapping my head around international adoption, I don't know.

I am so sorry to hear about your family losing your son's sister. I know that pain all too well.

I so appreciate being able to agree to disagree about this like respectful adults hesabanana.

I wish you and your family all the best.

[musemoon]

This is the response I got....






Thank you for your e-mail. We have repeatedly asked the Government of Guatemala to ensure a fair, transparent process for registering these cases. As of Friday, we were assured that the offices of the Central Authority were scheduled to be open all weekend in an effort to register all of these cases. I was not aware of any limitation on the number of attorneys being allowed to present cases. Unfortunately, as I understand it, the time limit for the registration process was written into the legislation. It may require new legislation for this period to be extended. We will continue to monitor the situation and advocate on behalf of the families who had adoptions already in process on December 31, 2007.

Gerry Fuller.





Good ol' Gerry or his assistant.....actually took time to respond, may not be the right answer, but it does sound like they are aware of the situation.


And on the International vs. domestic front, while I understand and support the idea of domestic adoption especially foster adoption......God brings children to different people in different ways....when someone asks for help in adopting a child, I like to support them, be it an international, domestic, foster, transracial, special needs, family....etc. Adoption is a challenging thing, we need to support each other, including first/birth parents and adoptees....that's why were are a community :-) but we all have different places in that community and different needs, I just like to remember that each of has our own pain and joy to heal and celebrate in the uniqueness that is adoption.