Exactly three years ago today and tomorrow. Hague survivors: do you remember? And for those of you struggling in-process today, read on to hear the story of your Guatemalan Adoption ancestry...
Typically, we try to give very generic information about what is going on in Guatemala in the hopes that adoptive parents will feel a little better informed and can make educated decisions when dealing with their agency...along with a number of other reasons. Unfortunately, agencies, attorneys and parental personalities are NOT created equal. There is a complicated recipe to determine what is absolutely necessary and what can be plain interference. This all stems back to the agency and how you chose them and since many of our readers are IN PROCESS, its no use beating a dead horse.
So are we wondering about our agency??
Yesterday, I counted 37 emails with the subject matter "PGN" asking the SAME thing...."what's going on?". There were another 12 which were agency/case specific and finally 14 emails I could answer. All in all, it took me over 2 hours to read and to respond to a few. (Just to clarify: I am only referring to direct emails to me not comments posted on the site) I guess I need to vocalize a reminder here....
PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL ME ASKING ABOUT PGN OR TIMEFRAMES!!!!! If I know something that is different from the previous posts or notable, I POST it!! I promise!! Again, this is not a paying job for me so I cannot dedicate every moment to answering the same question (sorry, I know most of you don't realize that it adds up ;-). Typically, I let comments speak for themselves...a few outs here and there, sure. But PGN does not contact me with a list of statistics and WHY some are getting out and some are not. That is why I POST information when I know it. I do get upset when readers constantly email me the same questions (and some folks email DAILY!)...thinking I am holding some criical information back (this is just a few people, btw).
Please understand...I would like to spend my time efficiently answering questions for folks who need guidance or who have questions about the process, etc. I can't do that if I am bombarded with PGN emails (and I am refering to the "is there news?" emails here).
To answer a few legitimate questions of late that I have not responded to yet....
Adoptive parents are deprived of the early "birth-bonding" with our children. While Guatemala excels in offering personalized foster care which naturally promotes good attachment, it does not replace the need for attachment parenting. The new parent is also struggling with the giant change in their lives...how easy it is to hang on every well meaning friend's advice while depriving your child of necessary bonding.
As I mentioned before, I have been working on revamping the site. I had hopes to move some things over...but I'm a little behind. But since I promised...and readers have been so supportive, I'll give you a little teaser.
http://www.guatadopt.com/ResourceCenterHome
We'll be moving our informational documents and much more to this area so that our readers can browse what we have easily. Let me know what you think!
Well, after receiving 40+ private emails today asking about PGN timeframes and questions, I decided I NEEDED to address all the "PGN Waiters". While I CERTAINLY understand the frustration, there is only so much I can do to "help". Not to mention that I do not get paid while your agency DOES get paid...and its REALLY hard right now to keep a good attitude when I am jobless and wondering how I am going to pay the electric bill this month.
First off: If you don't see your question answered or you just want to gripe, moan or comment, please do not hesitate to email me anyway. I'm here to support families *AND* agencies...even if *I* need to gripe occassionally too :-) I just had to say something because there were TOO many emails and I would hate for ANYONE to think that I was ignoring them or didn't care.
Tomorrow (JUNE 15TH), the site may be down for a time and then it will look quite a bit different!! I am hoping that our readers like our new site even better. Our goal was to get it organized better for easy access while adding cool new features, writers and articles. Please understand that there will be some incomplete links and some hiccups in the beginning and I'll get them straightened out as quickly as possible. Long term, I have a lot of stuff to reorganize I am still working on some site enhancements.
{Posted on behalf of Susana Luarca, ADA}
Dear Friends,
Association Defenders of Adoption held a meeting last night to discuss the delays of the adoption files at the PGN. The audience was informed by the president of ADA, Enrique Urizar, of the contents of the letter that was sent last week by ADA to the director of the PGN, urging him to sign off all the cases that have been reviewed by the PGN lawyers and are waiting for his signature. The letter warned him that is he failed to do so, legal actions would be taken against him.
This past week, Barrios went to Bolivia and came back at the end of the week. This morning we were told he started signing off all files presented before May 15th. We assume that he is doing so, to prevent us from filing an Amparo (a legal resource where there is no other legal remedy) against him, for failing to give an opinion in more than a month. Although that is a good start, it is not enough. At the meeting, we agreed to file criminal charges against him, for not performing his official duties in the time that the law establishes (three days) and for sending many of the files for 'investigation' to the section of children and adolescents of the PGN, where the processes are paralyzed for many months. He has done a lot of harm and will have to answer for it.
For those of you who want to take an active role in the prosecution of Barrios, contact your lawyer and urge him or her to contact us. Criminal charges should be brought by the victims. Do not expect others to do it for you. Let us know that you support our actions and remember that united we will be stronger.
Best regards,
Susana Luarca, attorney at law
Assciation Defenders of Adoption
Vice President.
COMMUNICATION
AGENCIES - These difficult times should prompt you to schedule a weekly call to every single client WHETHER OR NOT you have an update. I realize this is tough...some parents have a hard time letting you go. But even an upset parent will appreciate a call even if its just to see how they are doing: "Hi, this is K. How are you coping? I wish we could tell you something positive, but we still don't have any news..." You might get twenty questions or the blame game, but its much better to answer them on the phone than for parents to silently feel you don't care.
While this is the same ole news, I guess its appropriate to reiterate it. I know a number of people have written to ask for updates....Well, I feel like the budget weather guy who stands there saying "Uh, its currently raining!" DUH! Those of you waiting are WELL aware that you are STILL waiting!!!
So, lets talk about what agencies, attorneys and little ole me CAN tell you and what we CAN'T tell you.
1 - The bottleneck is PRIMARILY with the new PGN director. Yes, his job is to "review" or look over the files before they are released. The question is: To what extent? My opinion is that he is using this excuse to stall the release of files.
2 - Chances are you are not going to get a PGN "update" privately unless your case has been signed off OR it has been kicked out (with a previo). Keep in mind that the attorneys/agencies have NO CONTROL over PGN slowdowns nor Embassy slowdowns. Expected timelines are being thrown out the window and there was no way that anyone could have foreseen it.
3 - Your case is a private-unique case unlike any other case. So, when we talk about vague concepts like slowdowns, you must remember that PGN is not a queue (first in, first out)....no matter what the speed of the "average" case. We have no idea why one case may only spend X amount of time while another case takes 3X amount of time...because we are not privy to the details of that case. So, don't expect to find answers in "averages"...
3 - FYI: Guatadopt is updating you based on our own contacts in Guatemala and various agencies' experiences. What we lack is direct information from PGN, statistics, reasons or individual case information. Most agencies and attorneys are blind to case statistics NOT their own....so take it with a grain of salt.
I am aware that ADA has been putting some pressure on the director to release cases which have been approved by the reviewers but not signed. But the most we can do is wait and see.
As usual, I wish there was something more we could do....but I suspect that the reasons are somewhat political and we must be careful not to fan the flames!
