Looking for information

Dear Max and Maddy, Please review the threads in this forum, particularly those that discuss timelines and the long wait in Panama. As far as I know, nobody has been able to adopt from Panama in less than 1 year, at least since last summer. And as you'll discover, with a new president taking office in September, there are lots of changes that will take place with adoptions (hopefully) to speed up the process, but until that happens, it's VERY slow going. Also, regarding your preferred ages, I do hope that you'll consider a slightly older child, as the youngest a child can "officially" be referred is 6 months (at least under the old administration), and by the time all of the paperwork and court hearings are completed, the child will likely be close to 12 months old. (This is based on the experiences families have had over the past year.) Good luck in your reading, and if you have any additional questions, feel free to ask!

There really aren't many (if any) positives to adopting from Panama yet, procedure- or program-wise. The program is so new and now they've had a bit of a shake-up in the already shakey administration. The wheels are supposedly moving, but at an almost undetectable rate right now. I've only heard of 2 adoptions happening in the last year or two...total! And they took nearly a year, if not more, to complete. Yet, there are 60 families waiting somewhere in the system. Craziness. The only reason we're even with (and likely to stick with) Panama, personally, is because it's my husband's heritage. Otherwise I'd go elsewhere or frankly try to get over the notion of becoming parents. It's *that* discouraging sometimes for me. I would not recommend adopting from Panama unless your dossier is already down there, you've got the patience of Job, or are Panamanian (and still have the patience of Job). Unless you have a really good reason why it has to be Panama. Gosh, I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but I can't stand the thought of watching any more people hurt like this the way Panama has been (not intentionally, necessarily). If you're a glutton for punishment, Panama is your country. LOL Basically, that's what it boils down to, until the program really gets on its feet. Robin

Max and Maddy, Good luck on your decision. Based upon your criteria of "not too long process" and "two children under 2 years old", you might find Panama difficult. From what I was told of the old Panama administration, it considers children under 2 as giving you the premium of their adoptees, so they would probably not consider 2 children under the age of 2 two for one couple. In addition, the process right now is a long one. We are all looking for it to improve when the new administration takes over in September, but for now we have been waiting one year from the time we submitted our dossier. All of us chose Panama for our own personal reasons, and many of us have chosen to stay with Panama for those same reasons. It is a difficult process right now and one that I pray will improve. Good-Luck! Lauri