Yunona Guatemala Program
2004-8-18
We are happy to annouce that we open a new adoption program in Guatemala. Newborn and up to 8 years old children are availlable. Escort services can be provided. Please, read our Guatemala page for more information.
Thank you.
Guatemala
The agency's Guatemala coordinator works directly with Birthmothers and supervises the entire adoption process. The children are placed in private, supervised foster care and have monthly well baby checks with a pediatrician as well as necessary inoculations. Medical and background information is available and the children and their Birth Mothers are tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and Venereal Disease. Many Birth Mothers are provided counseling and interviewed by a Social Worker or Psychologist.
Requirements:
* Single women or married couples must be at least twenty-five years of age.
* For married couples, one partner must be under fifty years of age to adopt an infant.
* Previous marriages are permissible.
* Other children in the home are acceptable.
Why Guatemala?
* Families may travel to Guatemala to visit the child before adoption completion.
* One parent may travel. Escort service is available. Families are encouraged to travel.
* The wait for a referral is usually very short. You will receive a referral about 1-3 weeks after complete dossier / paperwork is submitted to Yunona.
* Beautiful infants as young as nine days old are available for adoption.
* Newborns, toddlers, and children up to 8 years old.
* Yunona receives pictures, video, and medical information on all available children before the child is matched with adoptive families.
* Adoptive families can specify the age and sex of the child they wish to adopt.
* Usually infant orphans are placed in foster care instead of institutionalized settings during the adoption process.
The Guatemalan Process
Once a Dossier is sent in to our representative, a referral can be made to the family as soon as a child is available (within 1-3 weeks). We send photos and any medical we can get as well as D.O.B. and any information we can give on the biological mother. Once the referral has been accepted, a POA is made up to authorize the attorney to proceed with the adoption in the family name and it begins. The 1 st step is to get the papers presented to Foreign Registry and then on to the Embassy for authorization of DNA. Once that is given, the process starts in Family court, which takes approximately 4-6 weeks, at which time the DNA is done as well as a Social report with the birth mother and the Social worker sees the child. Once the Social Worker gives her report and the Embassy approves the DNA results, the case is presented to PGN [ Procuraduría General de la Nación. Attorney General´s Office of the Nation] , which is the Final Court. Most cases are in the PGN no less than 2 weeks and can go longer, up to 6 weeks depending on how closely they look at it and how many mistakes they find. One the PGN gives its approval, the Final Decree is made and the birth mother signs it and then a new birth certificate is made with the new adoptive family name. Once the Birth Certificate is issued, the passport can be applied for which takes 8-10 days. Once the passport is in hand, the child can see the Embassy doctor and then the family can travel to go to the Embassy appt. and then home to following day. Or the family can have their child escorted to them which requires the adoption finalized documents be translated and sent to the family who then send the documents to INS in their state along with the I-600 to request an escort visa be sent down for the escort to travel. The entire process takes about 6 months on an average with some taking longer and some less. Travel time required is only a 2-night stay. Escort services are available!
For more information please contact:
Nana Saakova
International Program Director
Email: nana@yunona.org
Direct line: (415) 422 - 0615