[Jennifer Dixon]

Hi, I am in the "process" of trying to adopt a baby from Guatemala, we are waiting for a referrel. I am wondering how long I should keep on waiting for things to improve before switching over to another country. Has anyone else thought about doing this, and if so what country are you considering? Thanks in advance for any responses.
Jen

[rosiedaffodil]

If you have not already, please check out the following sites regarding Guat. adoption.

www.jcics.org

www.ethicanet.org

www.guatadopt.org


If I were in your place I would probably switch countries at this point. You will be in the post July 1st category. PGN has stated that post 3/5 pre 7/1 cases will be processed according to new rules. Hague requirements. This has not been stated for post 6/30 groups. Also, PGN has stated that they will be the only ones making referrals at this time. I really feel no agency should be making referrals from lawyers because lawyers do NOT have a role anymore. PGN is taking control of all referrals. You may not be able to actually adopt a child who is referred to you at this time. I would only accept a referral if there is a legal clause in the contract stating that you will get your money back if Guat. shuts down completely.
Please remember these are my opinions. Please be careful!!!!

rosie

[Shoshana]

I, too, was in the process of adopting from Guatemala. My homestudy was complete, I had received my I-171H, and my dossier had been submitted to the agency. I was number 2 on the list for a baby girl. Then came July 1.

I decided, after much reading about the situation in Guatemala, that I did not want to wait. I felt like there were just too many uncertainties for the post 7/1 people. And there was no way I'd be comfortable accepting a referral in this climate. From an emotional perspective, even though I was very excited/committed to Guatemala until fairly recently, the uncertainty was really upsetting me. International adoption is stressful enough. I wasn't able to maintain any semblance of confidence...

Anyway, I've just completed my dossier for Russia and hope to travel for my first visit Oct/Nov and then 8-10 weeks later to bring home my baby. As an added bonus, I have to change planes in Vienna and will be taking a brief vacation there! Once again I am cautiously optimistic.

Best wishes...

[Belenbaby]

Sorry to see you go, but I agree. If I was in your position I would also change countries. Good luck and God bless...

[marykate]

I know its difficult but the best is to move on right now thing are so uncertain. Best wishes whatever you do. marykate

[DKIM]

I would change countries. Infact, if I had that option (and in a day or 2 we might) we would switch without a doubt. There are a couple of other countries out there that have very smooth adoptions.

I wish you the best of the luck; I know what a difficult decision you're facing.

[Kirsten]

We decided with a heavy heart to switch and are now in our agency's Panama program. It 's a fairly new program, but I feel confident that even with the challenges, it's less stressful than Guatemala right now. My husband is deployed and I'm just thankful that we can still switch countries without too much trouble. I commend those without referrals who decided to tough it out and wait for a referral, but there is just too many unknowns at this point for us.

Kirsten

[jhscats]

It looks like we are going with Panama also. Here's how we decided.

Adoptable children - Panama has children just as beautiful and needy as Guatemala.

Processing - Sounds like 1-3 months to get a referral, then 1-3 month processing time, then child goes home from Panama. There's no way Guatemala is going to do anything that fast at this point.

Cost - Panama is $8,000 to $10,000 less than Guatemala.

So, it sound to me like comparing climbing 20 flights of stairs or taking the elevator. I have enough stress in my life without asking for more. I'll take the elevator.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Joan

[DKIM]

Panama does sound good! Do you know which agencies are working in Panama?

[Jennifer Dixon]

Hi, I would also like to find out which agencies do Panama adoptions!
Jen

[Kirsten]

I know of three agencies approved to handle Panamanian adoptions. Ours which is World Partners Adoption, Commonweath, and I believe the third is called Care to Adopt. It's a fairly new country for international adoption so there aren't many completed Panama adoptions (at least from what I could tell at the State Dept. website) . I think no matter which agency you choose, there will be some unknowns but I've been told that completing an adoption is not going to be a problem, it's more timeline related. There has to be more cases going through the system before a realistice timeframe can be set. Even with that, our agency is projecting 9-12 months at the longest.

Kirsten

[lam524]

Our agency also has a program in Panama and it was not one of the ones you listed.

[Kirsten]

Laura,

I'm glad more agencies are moving into Panama! I think that the more successful adoptions are processed, the smoother the process will become. Having different people from different agencies on the posting boards will help in information disemination. One agency may have more current news or processes than the others....so we definitely need to continue to share timelines etc. I mentioned in an earlier post that there was a Panama board, but I encourage anyone interested in Panamanian adoption to join. There has been some great posts lately.

Kirsten