On November 9th, I blogged about these six beautiful little baby girls waiting to join their forever families in the US; all families that I’ve personally met. To date, the only one on her way home is Isabelle, who will join her family in the US at the beginning of January 2008. Congratulations to her family!

The other little girls are in various stages of the process: Rachel and Isabella have been in PGN for quite a while, and Nola, Sadie and Madeline are not... more

Our family in the adoption process is not close enough to pick up time for us to let out a sigh of relief, but nonetheless there was progress in their adoption since my last blog. Although the final vote on the new adoption legislation has not taken place, it is not looking too encouraging for families still in process, but I can promise you that this family will not give up or despait.

Now let’s find out what is new!

1. It has been over two weeks since the last time... more

If there are enough members in the Guatemalan Congress on December 11th for a special session, the New Adoption Law will have its third and final vote. The way it stands today, this law will not truly grandfather in all the pending cases because of the proposed system. Article 56 would require all the pending cases to be registered within thirty days, an impossibility since a new Central Authority has yet to be created and there are over 5,000 adoptions to be registered.

I would like to get into the mind of the person who came up with this absurd idea. They are either naïve,... more

In a town not too far south of me lives a friendly, close knit family that I’ve gotten to know through adoption. We will be following this family as they wind through the process to bring their daughter home from Guatemala.

Now a little history while I do my utmost to respect their privacy since they’ve so graciously allowed me to tell their story. Mom and Dad have five children, their youngest, a daughter, adopted from Guatemala.

For this adoption, it was a three month process to gather all the documents of the dossier and get their petition from the USCIC. They... more

When I first started inquiring about international adoption several years ago, I quickly realized that no two adoption agencies are alike. Over the years I’ve heard more adoption agency horror stories than I care to count and come to the conclusion that there are far too many unethical, greedy, dishonest, unknowledgeable and irresponsible agencies handling adoptions, particularly Guatemalan adoptions.

This last year several corrupt adoption agencies were exposed and shut down. Unfortunately, there are still many more that should not be allowed to process... more

For the first several months of our children’s lives they are cared for by a foster family. This wonderful system has contributed greatly to the emotional and physical well being of our children.

Information about the foster mother should be part of your referral package. You will know her age, address and family situation. Many of us can’t wait to send a package after we get the referral; this is an opportune time to make the first contact with the foster family. Include a note in Spanish (don’t assume they can speak English); it is usually fairly easy to find someone who is proficient enough in Spanish to help you write a few kind words to the person caring for your child. Writing... more

Not long ago I received an email from a reader wanting information about adoption supervisors. Given the adoption climate in Guatemala right now, this might be a good time to talk a bit about this service available to adopting parents.

The key question is when do you need to hire adoption supervisors? I would say that when communication has broken down between you and your agency and you cannot get information on the status of your case, and /or your lawyer is not doing his/her job and not moving your case along at a reasonable pace, you might... more

I met several wonderful couples and singles while I was adopting Ella. We may only make contact a few times a year, but they are in my thoughts a lot. When I receive emails with photos of their children, I usually shed a tear remembering what we all went through, and the relief I felt when everyone arrived home safe and sound.

With the exception of one couple, all are well into their second adoption and adopting from Guatemala again. Apparently it is a bit easier the second time round for most of them as they are familiar with the ups and... more

Well we finally have the official statement regarding the implementation of a second DNA test for children to be adopted from Guatemala. The State Department announced it earlier today in a conference call with representatives of US adoption agencies.

The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Maura Harty says this new requirement is to increase the scrutiny of the unregulated adoption process in Guatemala.

All adoptions finalized on or after August 6th will be required to do this second DNA test. Unlike the first one that verified that the mother giving the child for adoption was the actual birth mother, this DNA test verifies that it is indeed the same child... more

A reliable source for information on Guatemalan adoptions posted that there is a strong possibility that the US Embassy in Guatemala City will implement a second DNA test that will occur at the end of the adoption process.

The reason for this is to prevent child switching. With the first DNA test often being done on young infants, the photograph is not always a reliable way to verify that the child you ultimately bring home is the same child as the one in the photo. Personally, when I look at the... more