Change...

Well, I wish I had sat down to post more positive news. But, there have been some very unnerving events that have recently unfolded on the Guatemalan adoption front. I think it's important to talk about them as they could mean major changes in the adoption front going forward- including our journey to Nathan. I'll do my best to give you the cliff notes here. Disclaimer too-- I am NOT an expert on the subject. :-)

For many years, both the United States and Guatemala have indicated that they will become Hague Accredited which basically means adoptions within Guatemala will be processed according to the Hague standards. Of course, this could be very good for Guatemalan adoptions as it would create more organization. However, it is yet to be determined what Hague procedures are or mean to those in process. More recently, the United Stated has indicated that it will initiate the Hague on Janaury 1st of 2008- which will make it effective sometime around April 1st of 2008. Up until recently, it had also been the consensus that Guatemala would also become Hague ready at this time as well. However, just this week there was a statement released by the US Department of State which indicated that, according to Guatemala President Berger, Guatemala would become Hague ready on January 1st 2008! You get where I am going with this?! That would mean that adoptions would stop until the United States was Hague ready, apparently slated for April of 2008. Once the US adopts the Hague, then Guatemala would open its NEW (can't wait to see what that is!) system to the US and adoptions would reopen. There is one pointed question in all of this: what happens to all of the in-process cases? To all of the families that began their adoption prior to 12/31/07? Well, that's where the news gets very concerning. According to multiple sources, the Guatemalan government is saying that effective 12/31/07- ALL adoptions from the US will end if the US is not Hague ready and Guatemala is. This means that they will not honor any type of grandfather clause. Of course, upon reading this Rich and I became very concerned. We have read every article out there and are trying to take it all as it comes. We knew this wasn't going to be an easy process and we are certainly seeing that even clearer now. If adoptions halt, there could be major delays in the process. As if there weren't any already?

So, what does this all mean? Well, I have attached some information below for you to read. It's late and I couldn't possibly recapture all the details. The JCICS post really does a nice job of outlining the issues. There are a few things to consider: Guatemala is currently in the process of an election and President Berger will be out on 1/14. He is major anti-adoption so he probably wants to exert his power before leaving. Secondly, there are 2 bills before Congress to pass the Hague-and they are not expected to be heard in Congress in GC until November. There is a chance that the implementation of the Hague will be delayed in Guatemala until April. Our agency seems to think this will happen as the attorney's and ADA will fight this to the bitter end through the courts in Guatemala. It is also virtually impossible that Guatemala will be Hague ready when they plan to implement the Hague on January 1st of 2008. They currently have NO standards in place for processing under this new system. Very scary.

I post this article only to inform. Rich and I are closely monitoring the events as they unfold and we are highly confident that the adoption community will stand together to overcome this. If Guatemala halts adoptions, that would leave 5000 referred children-- who have already been macthed with loving adoptive families-- with an uncertain future. It really shakes me to think that would include Nathan.
I am quickly learning that part of going through an international adoption is accepting that which you can not control. I always have to remind myself too...the greatest things in life come from taking great risks and putting forth tremendous effort...our reward at the end will only be that much sweeter. Change is coming...but let's hope it holds off until April 1st and allows for a provision to grandfather all in process cases. Let's all hope...

Here's the information:

Guatemala 5000-- Call to Action