Guatemala seeks domestic fix to troubled overseas adoptions

At church on Sundays, Juliana Tocay fibs and introduces 3-year-old Katerin as her daughter.

[Tough Love]

Why not start by implementing a system of education and birth control (not controlled by the Catholic Church, please) for women? Without this enormous population burden, maybe Guatemalans could work together more effectively to improve their economy, standard of life, and future for their children.

[david wayne osedach]

Because of the global recession there will be less people able to adopt while the supply of eligible children increases.

[Stella]

We may be preaching to the converted here, but please see the link >

http://about-orphans.blogspot.com

Many thanks.

[Zerotolerance b s]

As an in process Guatemalan Adoptive Parent, I can say that the new law and the method of implementation smells. We were supposed to be grandfathered under the old law. Instead We the Adoptive Parents got things like typos on paperwork causing month long delays. Birth certificate issues, STILL WAITING AFTER TWO MONTHS. BIRTH MOTHERS VERBALLY ABUSED DURING THEIR INTERVIEWS, AND NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR OWN LAWYERS PRESENT.

FROM 3000 TO 5000 CHILDREN ADOPTED LAST YEAR TO 3000 TO 5000,SOON TO BE STARVING STREET KIDS, IN UNFUNDED ORPHANAGES THIS YEAR, CONGRATULATIONS UNICEF, GOOD JOB.

I also ask the church to rescind the be fruitful and multiply stupidity, before the planet collapses under our weight.

[Beau]

I live in Guatemala and travel to my other home in the U.S. frequently. I have been on flights with as many as 15 adopted children with their new families, and it was inspiring to see the love flow from the new parents to their new children. Yes, there were abuses in the system in Guatemala, but you can believe that the children are, today, much better off in the U.S. than they would have been today in Guatemala. As for the abuses in the Guatemalan adoption system, yes, they existed, and they still exist today and will exist tomorrow and the next day. Corruption and abuses are a way of life here and when one pathway to corruption is closed three more will open. This is true in government, in business, and in social programs. No amount of "do gooding" will change the basic facts of life here. Focus on what's best for the children, and I say that's the U.S. Then focus on trying to control the lawyers and the middlemen in the process, keeping in mind at all times that that is close to impossible. And never, ever, trust a politician here.

[Mom of a Guatemalan child]

With an insider's view of the way the adoption process worked (or didn't), I am compelled to ask Unicef to help the flow of adoptions to the USA. We were fortunate enough to be able to bring our daughter home after a grueling 2 years of paperwork, attorneys etc. We have promised our daughter that we will return when she is ready and will find her birth mom. She was a single mom of 4 and decided that she couldn't feed & clothe her children. She kept the 13year old. If it were possible, I would have brought them all home to live with us. The concern MUST be for the children. As we gain our daughter's trust, she fills us in on the details. It isn't pretty, but with love we can and will conquer her doubts and insecurities. She KNOWS she is loved here and said just last night how happy she is to have food and clothing without tattered pieces hanging down. That broke my heart. Some days she doesn't want to talk about it at all and other days it just pours forth. We love her like our own biological child. Once you know she is yours to take care of forever, that is the stepping stone to the whole family's future. We are so happy to have here home. Funny, the "rich foster family" down in Guatemala took wonderful care of her except they never sent her to school for the entire two years she was there, in spite of us sending money for it. She stayed home with the maid. Luckily, she is catching up with our help and the ESL teachers have been great up here. Blessings to those who really do want to help with the situation. The children should come first!

[LilDaddiesGurl]

My dad is Guatemalan and i think it's great if someone wants to adopt a child. my mother is white but we adopted a little african american child because it was the right thing to do.