AGENCY QUALIFICATIONS/ HISTORY IN GUATEMALA
- Does the agency specialize just in Guatemala, or handle adoptions in other countries?
- How long has the agency been doing adoptions in Guatemala?
- How many adoptions have they completed in Guatemala, overall?
- How many adoptions from Guatemala did the agency handle in 2004, 2005, this year to date?
- How many staff people work specifically on Guatemalan adoptions, and what are their names/titles?
TIMEFRAMES
Overall, what does the agency claim their general timeframe for the agency for:
- Review and recommendations regarding finalizing our dossier
- Referral of a baby boy, once we are paper-ready?
- Referral of a baby girl, once we are paper-ready?
- Referral of the next available baby, once we are paper-ready?
- Getting our case through DNA?
- Getting our case through Family Court?
- Getting our case through PGN, from submission to exit?
- Getting a birth certificate?
- Getting a pink slip from the embassy?
- Total timeframe from paper-ready to pickup?
CONTRACT AND FEES
- What is the payment schedule? Does the ask for a payment upon signup, another payment upon referral, and final payment upon exit from PGN, for example?
- Does the agency contract specify full payment of agency and attorney fees upon referral?
- If the agency asks for the entire payment up front, when do they distribute payments to the attorney? All up front, or upon referral, and then exit from PGN? What percentage is at referral, and what percentage at exit from PGN? Do we have a say in whether the attorney gets the final payment, if there are problems or holdups?Does the agency contract have a gag clause or any prohibitions on our discussing our case of the agency publicly, on the Internet, in public Internet forums, or on listservs?
- Does the contract prohibit contacting anyone in Guatemala or discussing our case with anyone in Guatemala who is not employed by the agency?
AGENCY CONTACTS
Who will our primary contact at the agency be for:
- assembling our dossier?
- getting and accepting a referral?
- getting through Family Court and PGN?
- getting updates from the attorney?
- arranging for visit trips?
AGENCY COMMUNICATION STYLE
- How does the agency best like to communicate with clients? Email? Phone?
- What is the agency's typical turnaround for an inquiry from a client by email? By phone?
- Does the agency put out a regular newsletter or update on their Guatemala program? How often does this /update get published, and how is it distributed? Is this a guaranteed service, or can it be discontinued at any time without notice?
- Does the agency have a private listserv, forum/bulletin board for its parents adopting from Guatemala that you can join? Is it staffed by agency staffers who answer questions? How active is the list -- how many current members are there?
- Does the agency hold regular chats -- either online, or via phone/conference call -- to share updates on their Guatemala program?
- What is the agency's communications philosophy? (Note: some agencies believe in contacting clients only when there is specific, tangible, actual and verifiable news to share. Others believe in checking in regularly, even if there is nothing to report, to keep in touch with you.)
- How often can we expect to hear from the agency?
ATTORNEYS
- How many different attorneys does the agency work with?
- Will they share the names of the attorneys they work with? If not, why not? What is their reason for withholding that information?
- Will we be able to directly contact our attorney in Guatemala, or will all communications need to go through the agency? If no contact is permitted, what is their rationale?
- Once we get a referral, how quickly can we expect to get a Power of Attorney in hand, so we can process it?
FACILITATORS?
- Does the agency use facilitators?
- Do the attorneys hired by the agency use facilitators?
- Can we find out the names of the facilitators the agency or the agency's attorneys use?
CARE FOR BABY AND BABY UPDATES
- Which pediatrician does the agency or attorneys work with for evaluating the babies/children in Guatemala?
- How often are well-baby visits conducted? Monthly? Every other month?
- How often will we get reports on the medical visits? Monthly? Twice a month? How will those reports be delivered?
- How often will we get photos of the baby? Monthly? Twice a month? How will those reports be delivered?
- How often will we get video of the baby? Monthly? How will the videos be delivered?
- How often does an agency staffer actually visit the foster family and baby?
GETTING THINGS TO THE FOSTER FAMILY OR BABY
- Will we be permitted to send gifts to the baby and foster family before we go for a visit trip, and while the adoption is in progress?
- How will the agency facilitate us sending those gifts to the foster family?
TRAVEL
- Does the agency require that we have DNA approval before we travel for a visit?
- Does the agency let us schedule our visit trip or pickup trip on our schedule, or on their schedule (i.e., all the families from the agency can visit or pickup only one particular week each month)
- Does the agency require that we travel only when they have a staff person or facilitator in Guatemala, or can we go anytime to suit our own schedule?
- Does the agency charge extra for visit trips? Are there any administrative, translation or other fees or charges related to visit trips?
- If the agency has a pre-approved schedule for trips, how often are there trips? If they say monthly, does that mean we are guaranteed the opportunity to travel the month we want, or do trips fill up and we have to wait until another scheduled trip?
- Does the agency require that we stay at a particular hotel? What hotel is it, and have they negotiated a discount rate for client families? Why have they chosen this particular hotel?
- Can we keep the child with us at a hotel, or only have the child visit during the day?
- Do we have to go to the foster family's home to visit the child?
- Can the baby stay with us for a week to 2 weeks, or is there a time limit on the time that baby can visit, i.e., 1-2 days?
- If we stay in Guatemala City, are we required to stay only on hotel property?
- On a visit trip, does the agency allow us to bring our baby to Antigua for a day trip? If so, do they require that we use a particular tour guide or driver?
- On a visit trip, does the agency allow us to bring our baby to Antigua to stay? If so, do they require that we use a particular tour guide or driver to get there and back? Do they require that we stay at a particular hotel in Antigua?
- Does the agency provide transfers to and from the airport?
- Does the agency have any staff people in Guatemala who can help us in the event we need assistance?
INFORMATION ABOUT BIRTH MOTHER
- Will the agency, its attorneys and facilitators help us make contact with the birth mother or birth family while the adoption is in progress, or after the adoption is completed ?
- Does the agency, its attorneys and facilitators discourage contact with the birth mother or birth family?
FOSTERING IN GUATEMALA
- Will the agency and/or attorney allow us to foster our child in Guatemala?
- Do they encourage, or even facilitate our ability to foster our child ourselves in Guatemala?
FOSTER FAMILY
- Does the agency, its attorneys and facilitators allow us to have direct contact with the foster family?
- Can we meet the foster mom/family at dropoff-pickup and talk?
- Will the agency have a translator on hand for us if we need it to talk to the foster family?
- Will the agency allow us to communicate -- i.e., email, mail, phone -- from the U.S. with the foster family in Guatemala while our adoption is still in progress?
STAFF CONTACTS
- Who is the primary agency staffer responsible for my case? (not responsible for reporting to me, but responsible for managing the case, communicating with the attorney and overseeing the process.)
- Will you have direct contact with the Program Director, or will the agency require that you work with a Case Manager/Caseworker, Office Manager, or other contact instead?
| Note: Assume for the purposes of this list, that the agency staffer primarily responsible for overseeing/managing your case is the agency's "Guatemala Program Director" and the person who is responsible for getting information to you is your "Case Manager/Caseworker." |
GUATEMALA PROGRAM DIRECTOR
- Is there more than one Program Director for Guatemala?
- How long as the Guatemala Program Director(s) been working with Guatemalan adoptions?
- How long has the Guatemala Program Director been working with this agency?
- Is the Guatemala Program Director a full-time employee of the agency?
- Is the Guatemala Program Director located in Guatemala?
- Does the Guatemala Program Director work out of the agency's offices, if so, which office?
- Does the Guatemala Program Director work out of a home office?
- If the Guatemala Program Director is not based in Guatemala, how often does he/she travel to Guatemala?
- Does the Guatemala Program Director regularly meet with the attorneys he/she works with in Guatemala?
- Does the Guatemala Program Director meet with PGN or other Guatemalan officials to help problem solve client cases?
- Does the Program Director speak fluent Spanish? Does the Program Director speak fluent English?
- Is the Program Director familiar with Guatemalan culture and how business is done in Guatemala? If not a native Guatemalan or Central American, where did they come by this familiarity with doing business in Guatemala?
- How does the Program Director best like to communicate with clients, if at all? Email? Phone?
- Can we get the Program Director's email address, as well as a home number and cell phone number for emergencies?
- If there is only one Guatemala Program Director, is there a backup person who will handle his/her responsibilities in the event of vacation, illness or family emergency?
CASE MANAGER/ AGENCY CONTACT PERSON
- Is there more than one Case Manager or contact for Guatemala?
- Which Case Manager or contact will be assigned to our case?
- How long has the Case Manager or "daily" contact person been working with Guatemalan adoptions?
- How long has the Case Manager or "daily" contact person been working with this agency?
- Is the Case Manager or "daily" contact person a full-time employee of the agency?
- Does the Case Manager work out of the agency's offices, or out of home?
- Does the Case Manager or "daily" contact person talk with the attorneys in Guatemala, or is that only done by the Program Director?
- Does the Case Manager or "daily" contact person speak fluent Spanish? Does our Case Manager or "daily" contact person speak fluent English?
- Is the Case Manager or "daily" contact person familiar with Guatemalan culture and how business is done in Guatemala?
- How does the Case Manager or "daily" contact person best like to communicate with clients? Email? Phone? Does he/she have specific hours of availability online or by phone? Can we get a home number, and cell phone number for emergencies?
PROBLEM-SOLVING AND OVERSIGHT
- How does the agency ensure that the attorney is handling the cases properly and accurately?
- Will our Guatemala Program Director travel to Guatemala on short-notice or an urgent basis if my case is not progressing and needs extra attention?
- What mechanisms does the agency have in place to resolve problems if our attorney and/or facilitators are not providing the best possible service?
- What information will we get from the agency about any previos on our case, and when?
- If there are problems with the adoption, and we want to bring in outside help, i.e., Adoption Supervisors, is the agency and the attorneys the agency works with in agreement with that, or is against their policy?
ABOUT REFERRALS
- How much time do we have to decide after we are referred a child, before the referral offer is withdrawn? Is there a time limit? If so, why?
- What information will we typically get in order to decide on a referral? Will we get a video, photos and a medical history?
Once You've Been Offered a Referral -- Questions to Ask About the Child and Referral
DO YOU HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE ADDED TO THIS LIST? If you have any feedback or additional thoughts, please email me now.
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