New JCICS post...

Through Joint Council’s continued dialogue with the office of U.S. Senator Norm Coleman, Co-Chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joint Council is pleased to offer Senator Coleman's letter to Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom.

Senator Coleman continues to be actively engaged in and supportive of our collective efforts to ensure that every child has the right to a safe, permanent and loving family. The Senator’s letter, presented on Friday morning, outlines his concerns regarding in-process adoption cases and requests the assistance of President Colom.

Additionally, on Wednesday, January 16, 2008, new members of the Central Authority were appointed. The new members are; Concha Marilis Barrientos de Estrada – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aura Azucena Bolanos de Aguilera – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sonia Elizabeth Hernandez Guerra de Larios – Bienestar Social and Norma Elizabeth Roble Avila de Villagran – Bienestar Social.

On Friday, January 18, the newly appointed Guatemalan Central Authority released the forms necessary to register in-process adoptions as required by the new adoption law (Decree 77-2007). Joint Council has forwarded these forms to all Joint Council Member Organizations and hopes to provide additional registration instructions in the coming days. If you are in the process of adopting from Guatemala, your adoption service providers should now be aware of the availability of these forms and work to complete the registration process at the earliest possible date.

While additional details regarding the registration process are not available at this time, Joint Council remains engaged and will notify you and Joint Council Member Organizations immediately as more information becomes available.

Please know that Joint Council remains engaged with the U.S. and Guatemala governments, UNICEF, the adoptive parent community and adoption services providers. Joint Council remains dedicated to our mission and will continue to advocate through the Guatemala 5000 Initiative until the children we serve are united with their adoptive families.

To review a copy of Senator Coleman's letter to Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, please click here.