Journeys of the Heart Guatemala Child Adoption Program Please Note: Effective October 2, 2007 Guatemala Adoption Program Not Accepting New Applications. Please Check Back Soon For Updates.

Guatemala has been active in international adoptions for many years.  With its close proximity to the United States, its beautiful children, rich culture and the excellent foster care the children receive while awaiting adoption. Guatemala has been a good choice for adoption since Journeys of the Heart (JOH) started working there in 1996.

Journeys of the Heart will not be accepting new applications for our Guatemala program, effective, October 2, 2007.  Please check back here with our website for updates and information.  There is a high risk that beginning early 2008 that neither the U.S. State Department nor the Guatemalan government may allow Americans to begin adoptions in Guatemala.  This possible moratorium in adoptions is not expected to affect adoptions already in process - please see links at the bottom of this page.   

Over the years JOH has changed the attorneys and facilitators with whom we work in order to offer good choices to adoptive families, reduce the time it takes to adopt, and provide better service.  We are pleased to be working with several independent (not JOH employees or agents), experienced law offices that provide referrals and care for the children while the adoption is pending and handle the case from Guatemala.  The adoption attorneys work with the birth mothers throughout Guatemala.  Once relinquished for adoption, children are cared for by foster mothers in the foster mother's homes in or near Guatemala City.  The Guatemalan attorneys and facilitators find and supervise the foster care.  The child is raised in a normal family setting where they benefit from the love, attention, and nurturing of the foster mother and her family.  It is common for the foster mother and their teenage daughters to weep for joy and grief when they place the child in the adopting parents' arms once the adoption is final.  This type of foster care family offers a wonderful start for a baby.  Even though a baby may initially grieve for the loss of the foster family upon adoption, the child will be able to transfer that bond of love and trust to the new adoptive family.  This makes the risk for any attachment issues negligible.  Adopting families meet the foster mother and can witness for themselves the love and attention she lavished upon the baby.  Meeting the foster mother and her family is often a very touching and memorable experience for the adopting family.  The family can also visit their baby in Guatemala prior to the finalization of the adoption, a beautiful though bittersweet experience.

The vast majority of children matched with adopting families are newborns.

At times toddlers, pre-schoolers, primary school and older children are available- sometimes siblings.  However the wait for referrals of older children and siblings will often be longer than for a newborn.  Since historically more families have wanted to adopt girls rather than boys, the wait for a girl is usually longer than for a boy.

Families receive medical information consisting of testing for HIV, Hepatitis B and VDRL (syphilis) as well as a brief, preliminary report from a Guatemalan pediatrician affirming the health of the baby at birth.  From then, parents can expect updates and photos, usually every 4-6 weeks until the adoption is completed.

Once the family receives word that the adoption is final and the U.S. embassy releases a "pink slip," (a notice written on a pink sheet of paper with the date of the child's U.S. immigrant visa interview, the parents can schedule their trip to bring their newly adopted child home.  Adopting parents will travel for approximately 4 days, in order to take care of the necessary paperwork and the U.S. immigrant visa.  When in Guatemala, families are well supported by the attorney or facilitator or their staff during their stay.  Most families find Guatemala to be a delightful experience.  Many take a day trip to beautiful colonial Antigua, just a 40-minute drive from the capital.  Agency staff can escort a child home from Guatemala to the adopting parents, although we encourage families to travel so they can experience their child's culture and heritage.

Guatemala City has been safe for adopting families, but there have been isolated incidents of violence elsewhere in Guatemala directed at foreigners. It is always wise to check the State Department's website for travel information before venturing out into the countryside.

For more information please contact Journeys of the Heart Adoption Coordinator Katie Balske Katie@journeysoftheheart.net or call (503) 681-3075

Link to our waiting children page

For further details about the "politics of adoption" re: Guatemala, the following websites are worth visiting now and revisiting as time goes by:   The Asociacion Defensores de Adopcion (the association of adoption attorneys and advocates in Guatemala and their legal and political analysis) www.adaguatemala.org/English/news/ ;  Focus on Adoption www.focusonadoption.com (a strong, articulate advocate for children and adoption formed by several adoption advocates and agency directors);  Joint Council on International Children's Services www.jcics.org (effective membership organization advocating for international adoption and consisting of adoption agencies, international adoption medicine doctors and therapists, parent groups, and other advocates); U.S. Department of State www.travel.state.gov (leading policy maker with respect to U.S. laws affecting international adoption - good overview of what adoption possibilities exist) - click on Intercountry Adoption in the Children and Family for U.S. Citizens menu on the right hand side and then click on “Intercountry Adoption” again on the left hand side for choices – e.g. news or country specific information

Meet Journeys of the Heart's Guatemala Adoption Program Coordinator Katie Balske -  Please Click Here