Susana Luarca’s latest blog has caused panic in the Guatemalan adoption community. According to her, the new registration process with the Central Authority is just not taking place.

In my last blog, I reported that registration was underway, and a friend reported to me that her agency confirmed that her daughter’s case had been registered with the new Central Authority.

However, according to Susana, who is usually pretty accurate, the registration forms are being changed weekly, the Central Authority adding more required information all the time. The latest requirement for the forms is a photo of the child, birth date, and the date the adoption was started.

Additionally, Susana states that the Central Authority wants verification from PGN of all the information being submitted by the lawyers. Apparently, PGN is not sending any information. Here’s my question: how can PGN send information on adoption cases that have not been submitted to PGN yet? Many prospective adopting families were only signing POAs before the end of December.

Susana goes on to report that PGN will not accept or reaccept any adoption cases without proof of registration with the Central Authority, and the Central Authority wants verification of all the details from PGN before they will issue a notification of registration.
My friend’s lawyer who says her adoption case is registered has not been back to pick up the proof of registration yet. This is what Susana says about that: “The fact that the CA is refusing to register the cases, because to offer to give the proof of registration later and not doing it, is the same as not registering it. Right now, not a single adoption case has been registered by the Central Authority.”

This situation is exacerbated by the fact that the Central Committee had two members replaced already, and has yet to receive any money from the government to run their office. While I want to believe that the new president, a much more humanitarian soul than the last, would not want to keep the adoptions from being completed, I think it is going to take a while to get things straightened out. Only people with an agenda would do everything in their power to make the registration process basically impossible to complete, and I fear that Susana is correct in her evaluation of the motives of the members of the Central Authority.

This is a stressful and depressing time for parents in the middle of the adoption process. A website has been set up for parents in-process and joining it might just help ease the tension and frustration.