E-mail from GR office

Today I got an email newsletter from the national office of Bethany in GR. It's all about the adoption process in Guatemala and the Hague Convention. It's quite a lengthy thing to try to explain here, even I don't think I completely understand all of it, but I thought I'd post this letter that might explain a little bit of how this might affect adoption between Guatemala & the U.S. None of this is to be finalized until sometime (more likely the end of) in 2007, which by that time Connor will be home, God-willing. Love you all & God bless!!

==========================
Our Staff:

Grand Rapids, MI:
Bruce Mossburg
Susan Meyer
Stellita Terpstra
Melissa Gunnink

Guatemala:
Silvia de Marckwordt
Karla Figueroa
Elissa Grochowalski
Diana Chitay Ruiz
Lety Fuentes



Bethany Christian Services International
901 Eastern Ave. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503




Noticias de Guatemala:
Día de la Madre, 14 de Mayo

Greetings! Hopefully April showers are bringing you May flowers and you are looking forward to new life both in your garden and your family! Here in West Michigan we are experiencing a lot of May showers!

We would like to share this poem with you as adoptive families, adoptees and friends in celebration of recent Mother’s Day:

Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were two women who never knew each other.
One you do not remember, the other you call mother.
Two different lives, shaped to make your one...
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.
The first gave you life and the second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name.
One gave you a seed of talent, the other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.
One gave you up... that's all she could do.
The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you.
And now you ask me, through your fears,
the age old question unanswered throughout the years...
Heredity or environment, which are you the product of?
Neither, my darling, neither, just two different kinds of love.
~ Author Unknown ~

The Hague: What it Means for Your Adoption

Recently there has been a lot of talk about something colloquially known as “The Hague.” While there are still more questions than answers, we at Bethany would like to share with you what The Hague can mean for the future of international adoptions in Guatemala and, what The Hague can mean for your Guatemalan adoption.


The Hague (Den Haag) is a town in the Netherlands which is the home of a building known as the Peace Palace. Many important international conventions take place here. In 1993 the Peace Palace hosted a United Nations convention titled “Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.” You can see why it has since been nicknamed “The Hague.”

In 2003, Guatemala signed the treaty that was a result of the convention. The convention and the treaty share the same nickname, “The Hague.” As a result of the signing, international adoptions were stalled. At the time, Guatemala lacked the legal infrastructure to comply with Hague regulations. Several months later the Constitutional Court in Guatemala ruled the treaty unconstitutional and international adoptions resumed. However, Guatemala has not removed its signature from the treaty and is still considered part of it.

The United States intends to ratify The Hague treaty in 2007. Currently, the U.S. State Department is working on implementing Hague regulations in the United States. Since Guatemala has signed the treaty, it is considered part of The Hague and therefore should be in compliance with its regulations. This can mean one of two things for the future of international adoptions between the U.S. and Guatemala: 1) Guatemala will pass Hague compliant changes to the civil code or law regarding international adoptions, or 2) Guatemala will not comply with Hague regulations, and international adoptions between the United States and Guatemala will cease sometime in 2007. The U.S. State Department is asking that Guatemala does comply with Hague regulations by this year.

Bethany and the adoption community believe that Guatemala will comply with Hague regulations, but it could be a difficult transition. There are two documents that might influence an individual family’s case during this time.

1) The I-600A and I-600 are the beginning of the process to obtain a U.S. visa for your internationally adopted child. It is commonly understood that submission of these forms prior to the U.S. implementation of Hague regulations would mean that the family’s case would be processed under pre-Hague USCIS’ international adoption regulations. This would mean that IF Guatemala does not pass Hague compliant changes to the civil code, an American family could still adopt through Guatemala.

2) The power of attorney is the first step in the legal proceedings of an adoption in Guatemala. It is commonly understood that if the power of attorney is registered before any new international adoption laws take effect in Guatemala, the case will be processed under the previous Guatemalan laws regarding international adoptions.

Please keep in mind that submitting the I-600Aor I-600, or registering the power of attorney will not guarantee that a particular case will be processed under a certain set of laws.

The Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS) is offering to work together with interested parties and child welfare experts to draft a recommendation as to what new laws would most benefit the children of Guatemala. On of May 16, JCICS announced that it is forming a taskforce of interested parties in both the U.S. and Guatemala to discuss the changes that The Hague will bring to adoptions between the two countries, and make recommendations on such. Further information can be found on their website listed below.

Please pray for our governments, adoption workers, birthfamilies, children, and adoptive families during this time.

Bethany will continue to give updates as we learn new information on the development of The Hague and its affects on Guatemalan adoptions.



For further information check out these websites:

U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services:
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/factsheets/adoption.htm

Joint Council on International Children’s Services:
http://www.jcics.org/Hague.htm