• Request an adoption information packet • On line Adoption Application • Request Homestudy Information Packet • Homestudy Application for Ohio families
Building Blocks Adoption Service, Inc. Guatemalan Adoption 4-1-08 The Guatemala program is temporarily on hold until Guatemala becomes Hague compliant per the U.S. Department of State. Please check back in 30 days. Building Blocks Adoption has developed one of the largest Guatemalan adoption programs. Building Blocks has its own office staffed with caring and qualified residents of Guatemala. We have also developed an extensive and unique network of attorneys, facilitators and other individuals that work directly with our agency to meet the needs of the adoptive family and the children to be adopted. Building Blocks believes that with this network your adoption experience as well as your travel to Guatemala will be extraordinary! The staff in Guatemala will be there to help families whether they are processing their adoption, traveling to visit their child or picking up their children on that exciting final day. The staff in Guatemala regularly provides updates on the children including medical and wonderful photos. We strive to provide these updates at no more than two month intervals. The United States employees of Building Blocks travel often to Guatemala to meet with your representatives and to supervise the updates as to medical and photographs. It is a “hands on” program (including meeting and holding all of the children) with quick responses to any issues that arise. Babies for adoption in Guatemala are referred at birth. It is common to receive information about a child only days after the child’s birth. With photos of your referral you will receive as much medical information as possible. Medical information on a newborn is limited compared to an older child or toddler. In most cases, after birth, children are transferred to foster homes where they receive excellent, individual care until your adoption is complete. Some babies are in orphanages but these are privately run with an excellent caretaker to child ratio. Building Blocks will often donate cribs, food, medicine and other needed items to these orphanages. Approval to pick up your child and bring them home is usually 8-10 months after you submit your dossier. Guatemala is a great country to build your family through adoption. The children are beautiful and well cared for. Our overseas staff is made up of caring Christian people. They love their children and are blessed to have the opportunity to provide assistance to children in becoming part of their new family. Our U. S. staff makes several trips, often monthly, to Guatemala to ensure that your child is well cared for and your process is moving through the process appropriately. Travel to Guatemala is easy and short from the US. It is a beautiful, mountainous country. Escorts are available from our agency for families that are traveling to complete their Guatemalan adoption that are not comfortable traveling alone. Sightseeing tours can be arranged for families that would like to see this beautiful country while visiting.
Homestudy and/or immigration approved families needed for our waiting children. Please contact our agency for details regarding children available for Guatemalan adoptions
Apply to our Guatemalan adoption program on line Receive information on the cost of a Guatemalan adoption and the breakdown of fees. Review FAQs on international adoption in Guatemala
Why a Guatemalan adoption? • Children are in foster homes or well staffed private baby homes • Parents get monthly photos throughout the process • Parents can visit their referral during the adoption process • The children are referred as newborns • The travel time is short • Children are healthy
Requirements for Guatemalan Adoption: • Single Women 25 years of age or older • Married Couples • Financial Stability
Required Documentation for Guatemalan Adoption:
• Approved Homestudy Assessment • USCIS I171H Approval • Marriage Certificate (if applicable) • Birth Certificates • Financial Stability • Divorce Decrees (if applicable) • Physician Report • References
Children Available for Guatemalan Adoption:
• Referred as newborns • Toddlers • Siblings • Older children • Special needs Guatemalan children usually have full or part Mayan Indian ethnicity with varied skin tones. Each child is unique in his or her own way. The children, primarily infants and newborns are available for adoption with very few older children available. Currently, referrals of boys and girls are immediate to two months. Parents may request the gender of the child they wish to adopt. DNA testing is performed on the child prior to adoption.
Travel for Guatemalan Adoption:
• Travel not required • Escorts available • Stay in Country approx. 4-5 Days Parents usually travel to Guatemala but an escort option is available if needed. The escorts are Building Blocks employees that have a great deal of experience in the country. Final note: Our in country staff is bilingual and will greet and accompany you for the duration of your stay.
Parents may travel. The stay is approximately 4-5 days. One of our staff members who is a bilingual coordinator will greet and accompany you for the duration of your stay. An escort option is available .