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Notice on Guatemalan Adoptions 07/10/03

Guatemala acceded to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and the Treaty entered into force in Guatemala on March 5. The government has named the PGN (Procuradoria General de la Nacion) as the Central Authority (CA).

Since March 19, 2003 the Guatemalan government has stated that all adoptions filed after March 5, 2003 will be required to meet new regulations. On July 1, 2003 the CA announced new procedures, in Spanish, on their official website: www.pgn-guatemala.com. Official translations of these procedures were supposed to be available on July 6 at www.pgn.gob.gt but as of today have not yet been released. Unofficial translations have been circulated, and our statements are based on our current understanding of the new procedures.

The two PGN announcements provide a general framework for the new process, but lack many important details which would guide the difficult decisions that must be made by families and agencies.

The first announcement found under the Autoridad Central/Informacion/Info de Adopciones link, states that families should submit adoption applications directly to the Central Authority, or to agencies accredited by the Central Authority. No agencies have currently been accredited. The announcement also details the documents that must be included in such an application.

The second announcement found under the Autoridad Central/Informacion/Informacion General link states that at this time, only four homes have been accredited by the Central Authority:

1. HOGAR ELISA MARTÍNEZ

2. HOGAR TEMPORAL DE ZACAPA

3. HOGAR TEMPORAL DE QUETZALTENANGO

4. RESIDENCIA PARA NIÑAS ”MI HOGAR”.

The announcement further states that such accredited institutions are tasked with first looking for homes for the children within Guatemala and that children will be available for international adoption only after such efforts are made. The time frames for these processes, however, have not been determined at this time.

In addition, the announcement states that the former notarial process for adoptions is no longer valid. The announcement also contains a provision for cases for Non-Contracting States, which basically says that the same procedures will apply to non-Hague states.

On July 10, 2003 the Embassy of Guatemala issued a press release which gives further information about the new procedures and which clearly states that new cases must be filed with the Central Authority and that the notarial process is no longer valid.

While some parties are arguing that the current changes are not legal under Gautemalan law, the fact remains that these are the official announcements being made by both the US and Guatemalan governments. While it may be true that such procedures may be overturned by the Guatemalan courts in the future, at this time parents are encouraged to ensure that their decisions take into account the current official statements of the Guatemalan and US governments.

The Department of State is warning families to be prepared for delays during the implementation phase of these new procedures. Given the continued absence of clearly defined procedures, and in light of the statements in these announcements that families should apply only to the Central Authority, families are encouraged to carefully consider the substantial financial and emotional risks inherent in accepting referrals from unaccredited agencies or attorneys at this time. Families are encouraged to rely on official statements for information regarding such decisions.

In addition, prospective adoptive parents should understand that the new adoption procedures, and all decisions as to how those procedures will be applied, are being made by the Guatemalan Central Authority. Therefore, US government officials may not be able to assist you in completing an adoption that does not meet the guidelines issued by the Central Authority

jen-duck

OK,
This information has always been available.

WHat it does not say is that Central Authorty HAS NOT
done anything. THEY don't know what new regulations
they want yet. So, when a case gets out of say FC and it
goes to CA they KICK it out because it's not HAUGE compliant-
even if they were to have the psych eval.etc.. because they don't know what they want. And the fact of the matter is they went backwards- they didn't announce this until WAY AFTER MARCH 5th- it was in JULY so the lawyers (which they have also taken away control of the rights of the children) are saying it's unconstitional since their congress didn't make this into law- PGN/CA have no legal right putting Guatemala into the Hauge treaty.

So just last week 97 lawyers filed an amparo together saying they weren't given their rights to make a living. And the rumor is that they were all granted their amparo saying if their name is attached to any case, it will go to PGN without problems. UNFORTUNATLY- MY LAWYER WASN"T ONE OF THEM -OF COURSE.

ALso, the referrals after July 1st are worried we have lost our referral since after July 1st no agency or lawyer had the right to refer anyone- and if the POA wasn't filed then- CA was suppose to hand out referrals- which they haven't done either. So, we have proof our POA was in Guatemala May 10th but our lawyer/facilator didn't file until JULY 2nd when we made a big scene because we were asking for SEVEN months. NOW, FC won't take our case because it wasn't signed in time. but then again- that's suppose to be a rumor ( www.guatadopt.com ) has stated it was a rumor. WRONG- it the truth. so we've been in the process (with our son) since APRIL 2003 and haven't made it even into FC yet- but we've also visted our son in JUNE- because everyone told us we were in FC since May. So we were down there for over a week with him 24/8. and bonded so we can't give up.

Supposibly, when their government gets to rule on it- they will make a ruling on it as unconstitutional- and everyone from 8/31 will be safe- and will be processed until the old way. AND when they have their new regualations- they will enforce it then- and not backtrack on the date. (not sure who will give out referrals)

the kicker is they took away rights/control from the lawyers- BUT STILL don't pay for the care of the children- so now the lawyers/orphanages are being over crowed mind you- no children coming out- but many more coming in- so now our child sleeps with 2 children in his crib! him and another little boy,. so these lawyers/orphanges take the children but receive no aid for them. their governement doesn't pay for the care- so how can they take away the rights of teh people that do??

the 4 hogar/orphanges isn't enough space for all of the children down there.... what's next- they'll have to start kicking out/releasing the older children to make room- and where do they go- the streets- which are already covered with the street children that are clowns and begging for money/food- without and sometime even with their parents.

WE need to write/call our senators to get invovled- I did- many times. but as we're post july 1st- not a lot they can do for us- until Guatemala figures out what they want to do- PUSH PUSH PUSH...

AND PRAY
jennifer