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Hi Everyone,
I just found this site a few days ago and it is GREAT!!!. I can't believe all the great information.
We just completed our homestudy and are in the process of collecting all the dossier documents. We are planning to use IAR for our adoption.
We have so many questions, so here a just a few basic ones.
1 - We hear it is about 6 - 7 months from the time the dossier is submitted to Panama before we make our first trip to Panama. That is assuming 1 - 4 for referal and 2 - 3 months for court processing.
2 - We are asking for a boy 0 - 9 months . Does this mean we should plan on the full 8 months?
3 - General health of the children. I have seen so many postings on the health of the children. It sounds like the issues are treatable and not life threatening. Should we be concerned about HIV, Hepatic or alcohol related issues? They say all the children tested for this things.
All this information starts to be overwhelming, so I am trying to read a little at a time. I would appreciate any input regarding Panama and IAR.
Thanks,
Dan
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I hope you aren't feeling lonely for not getting any replies!
Welcome to the Panama forum.
As you can see from most of the posts, we are all very new to this. In fact, the ONLY family that recently completed an adoption from Panama finally appears to have some free time to join in our discussions, and we're looking forward to hearing their story.
1. referal time: I can't answer this one. Our dossier has been approved since June, and we STILL haven't received a referral. Kind of odd, since many other families are receiving them. Our requests were pretty open, too (infant to 7 years, siblings with at least one girl or a single girl--we have 3 boys already, even treatable medical conditions). Oh, well. Also, re: court processing...the abandonment investigation USUALLY takes 3 months, according to our attorney. After that, the judge CAN take up to 6 months to make a decision (YIKES!), but he/she usually signs the adoption decree much sooner than that, especially for a baby.... For an "older child," (5 or older?) the judge wants to make sure the child and parents are meant for each other, so you might be required (one parent) to stay with the child for up to a month in Panama before the judge will rule.
2. re: asking for boy? It appears that referals for boys are pretty common. As with everywhere else in the world (except for China and India), girls are often adopted sooner than boys leaving fewer of them for adoption by foreigners.
3. re: health...Yes, you SHOULD be concerned (or at least aware) of issues like HIV, hepatitis, and FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome), but if your agency is truthful about the testing of these things, you should be fine. AIDS is not nearly as prevalent in Panama (percentage-wise) as the U.S., but it is still a possibility, so make sure the baby is tested before you commit. It's almost always a death sentence for a child. :(
Prenatal drug exposure is also a possibility, so ask about that, too. But from what I've read, prenatal methamphetamine or even heroine exposure are not nearly as long-lasting and with such grave consequences as alcohol and cocaine exposure!
Keep reading!
Rebecca
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