These country updates bring you the most current and up-to-date information from our program coordinators. One way of keeping you informed of what is going on in the country.
March 2010
We continue to wait on our first referrals from Mexico for families who have dossiers in process. We also have several families working on their dossier and I-800A approval. As the Mexican Central DIF continues to implement their new process under The Hague in relation to working with the state DIF offices, our families have experienced delays in receiving referrals. We hope that soon the process becomes more defined and predictable.
February 2010
We do have a limited number of openings in our Mexico program for families desiring to adopt children 4 years and older. According to the new national guidelines provided by the Central DIF office families hoping to adopt from Mexico need to be approved for a child from 0-6 years of age or older and list special needs they are open to. Families wishing to adopt a child 4 and under need to realize that only children with identified special needs will be referred to international families. These special needs need to be discussed in the home study as well as the CIS approval. These can be from minor correctible needs such as cleft palate, club foot, missing digits, burns, developmental delays to more moderate to severe needs.
Wait times for approval and referrals are at this time unpredictable until our first few families receive referrals and complete the process.
January 2010
In Mexico, New Year’s celebrations are spent with families having a late night dinner. However, many also celebrate with large street festivals with outside dancing, bonfires and food. Fireworks and bells bring in the New Year and celebrations continue to daybreak. One tradition that Mexicans often observe is eating a grape for every chime of the clock leading to the stroke of midnight and making a wish for each of the 12 grapes which symbolize a month of the New Year. Bacalao, a dried salted codfish, is a New Year’s staple food in Mexico. Toasts are made with sparkling cider, and a hot fruit punch known as ponche. The celebrating is not over however on January 1st. On January 6, Mexico celebrates Kings Days when Mexican children receive gifts brought by the three kings (the Magi). As a result, many governmental offices are closed for an extended period during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
We continue to wait with great anticipation for our first referrals from Mexico to waiting families. We hope that they will soon receive a referral. We have been informed by our consultant who recently returned from a trip meeting with the Central Authority of Mexico, that families dossiers must meet national guidelines for international adoption which include having their home study and CIS Hague approval stating that they are approved for a child(ren) between 0-6 years of age and listing special needs that the family is open to, unless of course the family is open to an child older than 6. Those families wishing younger children (under age 4) need to expect that the child will have some type of identified special need to make them available for international adoption which could be very minor correctible needs.
December 2009
Our facilitator was in Mexico November 30-December 4th meeting with the Central DIF officials, state DIF officials and the U.S. Embassy in regards to processing of adoptions. We have encountered some delays as the Central DIF offices and State DIF offices try to reconcile processes between the two in regards to adoptions under the Hague Convention.
We were informed that the Mexico State of Puebla is interested in beginning to work with CAS in adoptions and we hope to have information on the process, children available, and timeframes for this state once our facilitator returns. This state may be a good option for families to consider.
Our three families who have submitted dossiers continue to wait for word of approval and a referral. We are hoping that our facilitator can help assist the Central DIF and State DIF offices in moving these families along.
We hope to soon be able to move not only these families through the process but also open up a few more slots in our program by the first of next year. We will post on our website when we will start accepting new applicant families.
November 2009
We continue to await word that the first three dossiers that have been submitted have been approved and can receive a referral.
Once a dossier is sent to Mexico, it is received by the Ministry of Foreign Relations where it is approved and then sent to the Central DIF to obtain a registration number. Once Central DIF has completed the processing, they forward to the State DIF office which is similar to the Department of Social Services. This DIF office has several departments which the dossier must progress through. The dossier first goes to the judicial department where the dossier is checked to make sure all the documents required are present, complete, and accurate. Then once approved by the judicial department, it is sent to court where if approved, a letter is issued regarding the suitability of the adoptive parents and the CIS status confirmed. Once this is received, then the family is eligible to receive a referral. Once the DIF office has a referral they believe is suitable, they will send the referral documentation to the agency to present to the adoptive parents.
Currently, the three dossiers are in the judicial division of the State DIF offices and we are awaiting word that they have moved to the next step in the process.
Other families in the program are working on completing their dossiers so they can be submitted to Mexico.
September 2009
We are currently waiting to hear from the Toluca DIF office regarding the first two dossiers that have been submitted by families. Our consultant is contacting the offices weekly to ascertain projected time frames for dossier approval and referral. The first dossier to Cuernavaca has been sent and is being processed by the Foreign Relations office and Central DIF before it is sent to Cuernavaca.
As this is a pilot program, families are advised that changes in time frames and requirements are to be expected and are part of a new program. CAS will keep families updated as information is received.
This program will open to new applicants once current pilot families make solid progress and we can more accurately determine the procedures and time lines.
August 2009
CAS has been notified that the registration certificate from Mexico is signed and a copy will be sent to us this week! A copy of our certificate is also being sent to each of the state DIF’s (the State System for the Full Development of the Family) so that they will accept our dossiers.
Our consultant was in Mexico July 21-24 for various meetings with the US Embassy in Mexico City, the Central DIF office, the office of Foreign Relations and the State DIF offices of Toluca, Cuernavaca and another potential state which would like to work with us, Puebla. She has received some further clarification on the different process requirements for these states as well as potential wait times for families. We will soon be posting these on our website.
Our first two dossiers have been sent to Mexico and we wait now for them to be approved and wait on the match of a child. This is an excellent program to watch as we anticipate our first few pilot families to move along smoothly. The program will open to new applicants once we determine the procedures and timelines.
July 2009
Our consultant with Mexico has confirmed with the Toluca DIF (State System for the Full Development of Children) office that we may submit dossiers now even though the Central DIF office has not issued the official certificate. The Toluca office recently sent additional documents that will be required from adoptive parents. Toluca is the area which requires the 2 month stay.
We have not received permission yet from Cuernavaca DIF office to send dossiers yet. Our consultant plans to meet with the DIF office there to discuss this.
Our program is currently not open to new applicants until we can process through the first few pilot families to determine the procedures and timelines for future families.
June 2009
What is a Pilot Program and What Can We Expect?
A pilot program is a new adoption program in a country that has either just opened for international adoptions or for which the agency is starting a new program to provide permanent loving homes to children in need. Families entering a pilot program are informed that with new programs to expect the unexpected and to be flexible with the many changes and delays that are part of starting a new program. A program is considered a pilot program until at least 5 families have completed successfully an adoption from this country.
Mexico is such a pilot program as they have changed requirements for agencies working there due to the Hague regulations and are requesting additional documents prior to agencies submitting dossiers. Due to some delays with the Mexican government and additional requirements being placed on agencies, we are still waiting to submit our first dossiers. Hopefully, we will soon send our first completed dossiers and evaluate the timeframes for these families.
We have other pilot families waiting to start their dossiers once we are able to submit our first dossiers and they are busy working on home studies or educational requirements as they wait. We are currently not accepting new applicant families to the CAS Mexico adoption program. As we are able to complete our first adoptions, we will be able to open up more places for families. We will post on our website when we are able to accept new families.
May 2009
Mexico again has been the focus of attention lately in the news because of the “swine flu” or the H1N1 virus. In fact, at the end of April and first part of May, non-essential government offices were closed as well as schools in order to curb the spread of the virus as Mexico has the largest number of cases and confirmed deaths from this latest strain of the flu. Travel to Mexico has been discouraged until the spread of the virus has been contained.
As a result, we are unable to move ahead with submitting dossiers for families as we wait for the government to give us permission to do so. We are advising families in the program to delay starting their dossiers until we can move ahead.
To view past Mexico adoption program updates, please see our CAS Publications page and click on the Monthly Country Updates.