Agencies Using Lawyers Directly Instead of Ministry

I spoke with our agency director yesterday, and he said that they can do both- either go through the ministry for a referral or use their lawyers to work with the orphanages directly. Apparently, they have a good relationship with the woman in charge of assigning referrals through the ministry and he doesn't anticipate any problems getting the referrals. But as a plan "B" they also have lawyers supporting their Panama office if it becomes necessary. This made me feel alot better about being in a new program. I also did some research, and it appears that which agency you are using might affect your referral time. It seems like agencies working in Panama have the option of becoming accredited in the country. While accreditation isn't absolutely necessary to receive referrals from the ministry- only a good relationship with the director is- apparently agencies have to actually take the step of gaining accreditation before they are allowed to post any information about Panamanian adoptions on their website. If they refer to being able to handle Panamanian adoptions- and aren't accredited, the Panamanian authorities can take action. I've also heard that for an agency to be accredited they have to have an actual office in Panama. For what it's worth, I have heard that their is an agency who has Panama on their website and is not accredited. But- like anything I learn on these posting boards, I'm pretty careful and research everything before believing it. It's just something to be aware of as you navigate the process. I'd be interested to hear what others have discovered about the process, and whether accreditation and onsite offices have come up in your research. Kirsten

Thanks Kristen for the great information. I've just left a message with the agency I think we will be using to get info on this issue. I will report back what I find out. Julie