[cantwait2bmommy]

Good morning! I posted a while back in a panic that people going through CNA are having to stay MONTHS for their empathy studies. Another person told us today that they were told they would be in Guate for 2 months (the other person was told 2 months and I think is going on 3 in Guate) after being assured, like us, max would be 2 weeks.

I am now just trying to plan ahead. I will need a 2 bedroom apartment for at least two months if things go the way it sounds like they will. We lived in El Solar for a couple of weeks back in '07. The bug problem was so severe we had to move to a hotel so I think I will skip that option this time around, but any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated and even better if there is a web site or pics some where that I could check out.

Thanks so much!
Chris

[mommytoEli]

what's an empathy study? does everyone in process have to do it?

[sfalone]

I'm not 100% sure but from what I was reading on Guateadopt, it's for cases that were allowed to continue through the CNA (maybe abandonment). The CNA is requiring the adoptive family to stay in-country so they can be observed. I belive modeled after Colombia's program.

[cantwait2bmommy]

You got it, Stacy. CNA calls us "transition" cases and are requiring we go down for a visit and be observed by a social worker. The social worker then completes yet another report for our file.

[Guatemom]

Chris I saw that post this morning, too...and frankly am freaking OUT
There is NO WAY we can swing a 2-month stint in GT. Absolutely out of the question. I had so hoped that CNA was going to do all of this on a per-case basis, but it's looking less & less that way. If this is going to be the new standard, then we are SUNK

[cantwait2bmommy]

Can you believe this, Melanie? I am freaking too, girl. If dh has to go the whole time, we are done. There is no way.

Yeah, it isn't looking very case-by-case to me either. I cannot believe after all we've been through it may come down to this. Supposedly Tecu wants our kids to come home, but it seems to me that putting this requirement on us at this stage in the game is totally unreasonable.

My attorney is meeting with CNA today so hopefully I will know something later today. In the meantime, I am praying 2 months is not the new standard and if it is that SOMEHOW we can make this work. AUGH!!!!

[LockStock]

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Great site for renting apartments and houses around the world.

[Guatemom]

My atty is AWOL at the moment...no pressure! I'd REALLY like some clarification on this asap, but hey...nobody jumps thru hoops but us families right?
I'd like to know how Tecu has jumped from 2 wks to 2 mts. I have been SO impressed with him/CNA up until this...now I'm absolutely in shock...it's surreal...it just cannot be happening. Surely he knows that the avg family cannot do this,

[kirbystarcat]

No advice. Just want to wish all of you being made to jump through these hoops the very best of luck.

[angel_bayou]

Praying for each of you still waiting!! Chris feel free to call anytime if you need to chat!

[stephjoel99]

I'm so sorry that you all are having to go through this. ((((((HUGS)))))))

[Devora]

I feel very badly for those of you who are going through this. I applaud the Guatemalan government's attempts to be more thorough and rigorous in verifying appropriate placements, prevent disruptions, and protect against abuse of children. However, if this requirement is made for all transitional cases many of those cases will not be completed because the prospective parents will stop the process. And if it becomes part of their new process there will be far fewer adoptions because of the prohibitive nature of the requirement.

Surely he knows that the avg family cannot do this

Actually, as difficult as it is to put yourself in another world view, he may not understand this from a US perspective. If you've been around this forum for a while you'll have seen some posts about foster families coming to the US and planning to visit for 6-8 weeks. It seems unusual from our standpoint -- but it's apparently not from theirs. A friend of mine lives in a country where the standard annual leave time is 4 weeks and higher level managers and professionals get 6 weeks/year -- for them it would just be a matter of arranging to take all their leave (and maybe an additional couple of weeks) at one time. Add to that the relative wealth we have in the US and it may seem not that unreasonable to think that a family who can afford to adopt can afford to stay in Guatemala for 6-8 weeks, especially if one parent doesn't work outside the home.

It's really hard to understand other worldviews because our own experience is like the air we breathe -- we aren't often aware of how culturally/socially relative what we do is until we're in a different setting or faced with a different worldview, just like we don't think about the air we breathe until we don't have any.

[JoshGuat]

Sorry to hear that you have to go through this.

Just a thought, maybe a few of you can get together and rent something together to save $$$, if costs is the issue. If two of you have children maybe you can switch back and forth to run to the local store etc. Maybe you can arrange something through your agencies etc. I know that is a long shot, but it may be a way to help one another??? and not drop the adoption.

[Larue]

Hi Chris. I stayed at Santa Rosa Apartamentos in Antigua for 2 months back in 2007. It's a gated complex on the outskirts of town, and has wireless internet. The apartments are actually 2 story duplexes, with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. There is also a small bedroom off of the kitchen area. So I guess you could say it's 2.5 bedrooms. It's about a 15 minute walk to Central Park. Very clean and secure. I shared an apartment with another Forum friend who was also fostering her daughter. We split the rent and utilities, and it was about $600 a piece at the time. I highly recommend it. Just let me know if you're interested, and I'll dig through my files and look up the phone number.

Sending you hugs!!!

[inguattoadopt]

Just wanted to share our experience we are currently going through. Ours is an abandonment case. We were finally approved by the CNA in January and were told we needed to live with our child in Guatemala. We were told the CNA administrative case would take 3 weeks at which time our adoption case would go to the Family Courts where, depending on the speed of the court we are assigned to, it would take 3 to 6 more weeks.

The first week noone from the CNA called or came by to check on us or our child. On the 7th day 2 child psychologists from the CNA came by our hotel and visited with us for about 45 minutes. They then said they would recommend that we be approved. We thought within a couple of more weeks our administrative case would be completed and then sent to the Court. Long story short... we are now at 3 months and the CNA has NOT sent our case yet to the Court. They keep saying be patient with them. Hopefully next week it will go to the Court. At least we know our attorney is calling or stopping by the CNA to check every day or so. And by the way, noone from the CNA has called, emailed, or stopped by our hotel to check on how things are going for us and our child since that 7th day.

I'm posting our experience to let you know that the CNA will tell you a few weeks to 2 months for the entire process. What we have learned is that you cannot believe what you are told by any government official. I truly believe it is a cultural thing to for them to tell you what they believe you want to hear but they don't care about follow through and integrity. I hate to say that but it's very true.

It will be no surprise for us to be in Guatemala for 4 to 5 months. Hopefully your cases can get done faster but you need to understand it may take many months. We know that when it's all over and we are home all this will seem like a distant memory but right now it can get pretty frustrating as you would expect.