Update on the Responses to the letters sent out

hey,
Just wanted to keep everyone up to date. Last week, Margaret sent out about two dozen+ emails and about 80+ faxes to everyone in Congress. Okay, maybe not everyone, but all the congressman/woman and Senators in the New York State, along with the Department of State and UNICEF in NYC. Even though we were not in the "District" or a "constituent" to most of the congress people - Margaret still faxed/emailed them and told them right from the beginning - "Before you toss this letter aside, because we are "non-constituents and our address indicates we do not live in your Districts". We are writing because this is not a "District Issue", this is a Unites States of America issue. Please take a moment to read why"...............

Well, over the weekend we got a letter in the mail (with a real signature) from a congressman from the Bronx. His letter was very nice and he said that "he stood with us on this issue and that he will strongly consider our opinion". I can bet you, he probably has to check into it, because he probably has no idea what is going on with Guatemala Adoptions. But that is okay, now he does.

We also got an email back from The State Department of Children, and they wrote;

Thank you for your inquiry concerning Adoptions in Guatemala. I apologize for responding to you with standard language, rather than writing individually, but I am currently receiving a so many e-mails about Guatemala that if I were to answer individually each person, you might not receive your response for a week or more. I hope that a prompt response is more useful than a personal one. I trust it will respond to most of your questions.

First, the Guatemalan legislation on adoptions (commonly referred as “the Ortega law”) has received a third reading, but is not yet the law of the land. (People who say that the law has “passed” do not realize the language is still subject to amendment.) At this point, I do not yet have a copy of the actual law, so I do not know exactly what it says or what it will mean.

Second, there are many rumors/news reports about what is going to happen and what this law will mean for the children and adoptions. The fact is, no one knows for sure because, just as in the U.S. Congress, “it is not over until it's over." We do understand the concerns of prospective adoptive parents caught in this transition.

Third, I want you to know that we continue to advocate strenuously and at every opportunity for sound, transparent legislation that does two things. It should protect the interests of everyone, but most especially the children themselves. Also the legislation, or its implementing regulations, should include transition provisions that will allow cases already in process, to be completed under the rules in force when a adoption process officially began.

Finally, many prospective adoptive parents who have already begun their cases have expressed specific concerns about how their cases might be affected by the Government of Guatemala's announcement that they would no longer process adoptions to non-Hague countries after December 31, 2007. Unfortunately, most of their questions cannot be addressed until the legal situation in Guatemala clarifies. The Department of State issued a warning about adoptions in Guatemala so that people who may be thinking about initiating an adoption will be aware of the risks involved during this time of transition. At the same time, the Department of State continues to work hard to protect the interests of American citizens already pursuing an adoption in Guatemala. We are urging the Government of Guatemala to allow adoption cases already in progress to proceed to conclusion without additional requirements, under the laws and regulations in effect when children were matched with a prospective adoptive parent(s)

The State Department’s Office of Children’s Issues is deeply committed to working with all concerned parties to ensure that inter country adoptions occur under transparent conditions and with appropriate safeguards to protect the interests of birth parents, adoptive parents and, most importantly, the children themselves.

Sincerely,
Gerry Fuller

This letter also was a very good letter to read.

Things with Guatemala Adoptions are looking better, now we just need to get it all in writing, that they will allow the Grandfather clause and all cases will be completed with the laws it started with.

Please continue to pray, wish, fingers crossed - whatever works for you - that our Anna comes home real soon, and all the other families who are adopting get their child home also.

Thanks for all of your support.