Hello everyone, this is Ann. First of all I would like to say thank you to Kevin and Kelly for all you do and have done for adoptive parents, PAPs, and the children and people of Guatemala. On a personal note, there were many, many days when Guatadopt helped me through some very tough times. I am positive I am not alone in saying that. When you are in the process of adopting from a foreign country the acute lonliness and day to day struggles take their toll and to be able to log on and check in with Guatemalan adoption relevant information is invaluable. Guatadopt has been an e-lifeline for so many and I am happy to be here with such a great group. Thank you for extending the invitation.
Second of all, as Kevin mentioned, much of my role here is to bring Guatadopt back to it's "activist roots" and to help be a bridge between Guatadopt and the work that the Guatemala900 is doing. I am on the Executive Committee of Guatemala900 and am devoted to helping the PAPs gain transparency for their adoption process and that the cases be provided timely due process. In the end, it is about the children and their basic human right to a family.
On that note, the Guatemala900 is on a final push for Congressional signatures to the letter that was co-authored by Senators Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Barbara Boxer (CA), and Russ Feingold (WI). The letter is addressed to several of the top-level positions in Guatemala that deal with the "grandfathered" adoption cases. The letter respectfully requests the Guatemalan government take steps to institute a transparent and predictable process for all pending adoption cases. This letter will be addressed and sent individually to several Guatemalan government officials who each play a significant role in the processing of these adoptions. This list includes the PGN, CNA, and the Supreme Court among others.
The deadline for Congressional signatures has been extended until TUESDAY JUNE 15. Please see www.guatemala900.org for details.
Posted by Ann at June 13, 2010 10:52 PMI Have been stuck in RENAP for two months. Does anyone know of a number or e-mail address as a way of contacting them to see what the hold up could be? My case has been in process now for close to three years!!!
Please help!
Karen,
RENAP, Guatemala has a website
this link should take you to a country map. you want to try to contact the state from which your child's birthcertificate is coming from... there is a listing of phone numbers. I suspect you want to have someone who speaks Spanish to assist.
Sorry about your delay.
http://www.renap.gob.gt/sedes_mapa.php?men=7#
Ann
Posted by: Ann at June 14, 2010 03:02 PMSadly, I don't think that anyone who is still waiting to bring their child home from Guatemala can be provided with "timely due process". It's a wonderful thought, but I just don't see where the Guat authorities are interested in these children's "rights". As I sit here waiting for my daughter to be declared "adoptable" by the court, it is difficult to be objective. This whole "adoptability" scenario came about because of a dirty attorney working with a dirty, lying US agency whose "interests" were in how much money she could get from us and how long she could keep our daughter in foster care, which, by the way, was a hogar that her MOTHER ran! Mistakes were made purposely and I had to go to the court personally to find the TRUTH. Fortunately, the hogar was shut down and our daughter moved to a hogar where they are truly interested in taking care of children. They refuse to take a penny from any PAP. Meanwhile, at our first "adoptability" hearing last Oct., the judge wanted to grant the adoptability but PGN (who I was under the impression had no say at that point) objected citing their need for "more time to locate the birth mother". But, alas, we were assured that adoptability must be given in 2 hearings or less, so our late Nov. 2009 hearing didn't seem so far off and we thought there was an end in sight. Nope! Once again, PGN wanted more time to investigate. Um hello, how long does PGN possibly need? Are they aware that there is a child waiting? So, next came the April 2010 hearing and lo and behold, the JUDGE SUSPENDED the hearing til end of July! Even though the law states that the only reason a judge can do this is if either the PGN rep or the child is not present. Since this was not the case, I cannot hold out much hope for a resolution in July either:( Too bad these children can't all be provided with a Guardian ad litem who could step in and sue all involved for denying them basic human rights to love, family, security and permanency!
Posted by: deat66 at June 17, 2010 05:39 PMdeat66: I truly feel your pain. Our case is going on close to three years. We finally got out of PGN but if I told you why they kept holding our file you wouldn't believe it but the reason was our child had one last name because she was only given one since the mother was a single parent. PGN made us spend a year and half on redoing paperwork for the name change..only to find then we were sent through Minor's because our file was so long in the process. It was very sad since we were only following the advice of PGN. Now we are in RENAP and we are on a second previo and guess what for? The birth certificate with the name issue again. We should have been out of RENAP by now but going on two plus months because of an issue PGN created. The problem with the Guatemala system is while you are adopting your child they are trying to prove that the child is adoptable...unlike most countries where a child is available because the system has found that they are available to be adopted. Guatemala has a long way to go since their system is quite backwards!!! Meanwhile the children and families wait and wait. I wish someone would be held accountable for such a displaced system...adoption has always been about getting a child to a forever family as soon as possible..three years is not ASAP..three years to have a child in foster care breaks all laws that I am familiar with in the US. Stating again..Guatemala didn't fix their system by adding more steps it just created more problems to a system that is already backwards!!!!
Posted by: karen at June 22, 2010 11:29 AMAnn: Are you able to give a direct e-mail address or contact information?
Posted by: karen at July 7, 2010 08:17 PM