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.
February 2010
Peru was proud to see that for the first time ever, a Peruvian film was nominated for an Oscar. The Peruvian film, “Milk of Sorrow,” has been nominated for Best Foreign Film. The film is a reflection about the effects that armed conflicts can cause especially in victimized women and their children. For families in the adoption process with Peru or for those who may be interested in Peru, this could provide some great cultural understanding of Peru.
Also, a recent interview with SNA’s director provided families an insight into Peru’s adoption process and procedures. The Spanish version of the interview can be found at www.mimdes.gob.pe/files/Entrevista_ElPeruano11_01_2010f.pdf. The secretary said in one portion of the interview that:
“They (adoptive parents) must have full knowledge that the institution of adoption is aimed at finding the most suitable family for a child, and not a child for a family, as is commonly believed. This family must have the highest levels of tolerance. Adoption is not based on what person is more generous or altruistic. The purpose is not to choose a family that has love to give, but finding a family that has the necessary characteristics (according to psychological and social profile of a particular child or teen) to have this child who was the victim of neglect by biological family (in order that they) may not be victimized again.”
We continue to accept applications for the Peru program on a limited basis from families that are open to adopting a child or children from the Waiting Angels Program which is a list of older children (5 and up) or children of any age with special needs.
January 2010
Peru brings in the New Year similar to other countries spending time celebrating with family and friends. However, Peru does have some unique customs for celebrating in hopes of bringing luck for the New Year. One of these traditions is to dress up a doll or effigy with old clothes and then burn it, which signifies getting rid of the old, and making a new start. Other customs are represented by colors with the most popular being yellow for happiness and luck, followed by red for love and green for money. People also participate in a tradition known as “baño de flores”- or bath of flowers. Depending on what they are wishing for, they fill a basin with water and flowers of a certain color (roses for love, for example) and will bathe using this combination of water and flowers.
We are happy to report that we had a family return home before Christmas with their three daughters from Peru! What a special holiday for them this year. Congratulations!
We continue to accept applications for the Peru program on a limited basis from families that are open to adopting a child or children from the Waiting Angels Program which is a list of older children (5 and up) or children of any age with special needs.
December 2009
We currently have a family in Peru completing an adoption of a sibling group match that they received from the Waiting Angels List. We are hoping that the process will be completed and that they will be home in time for Christmas.
MIMDES is now posting on their website the dates of the next anticipated matching session which is posted for December 21st. Families can view the last matching session from November 30th on the MIMDES website as well.
We are currently only accepting applications from families who are interested in adopting a child from the waiting angels list which is a list of older children (older than 5) and children with special needs.
November 2009
Our first Hague case completed their adoption and embassy interview and will be returning home with two beautiful girls November 6th. Congratulations to this family!
We have another family that received a match of a sibling group from the Waiting Angels program that will be leaving mid November to begin their adoption process. We wish them the very best.
We are not anticipating a matching session until the end of the month. SNA did have two matching sessions in October. The first one in the first week of October was listed as a matching session for September which did not occur. Then on October 19th they held another matching session where the family that is travelling in mid November received their match. The trend continues with SNA making matches of young children to Peruvian nationals. Those families that are currently approved and waiting on a child under age 5 will have the longest wait. Families open to older children or children with special needs are anticipated to have shorter wait times.
We are currently only accepting applications from families who are interested in adopting a child from the waiting angels list which is a list of older children (older than 5) and children with special needs.
September 2009
Our first Hague family has submitted their I-800 and supporting documents to the NBC. We are now waiting for the review and provisional approval of the I-800, in order that the visa application can be filed with the US Embassy in Lima. Once the embassy provisionally approves the visa application, they will issue the Article 5 letter to Peru’s Central Authority (SNA). The family will then make travel plans to begin the in-country adoption process. We hope the family will soon be able to travel.
CAS is are currently only accepting new applicants who will adopt from the Waiting Angels program which is a list of waiting children ages 5 and older, older sibling groups, and children with moderate to severe special needs.
August 2009
We had one family receive a match at the July matching session. They are our first Hague case and we are in the process of working with the central authorities of both Peru and the U.S. in processing the I-800 so that the family can be approved to travel and begin the adoption process. With Hague cases, once a family has received a match, they must file the I-800 here in the U.S. with all the required evidences. The National Benefits Center then reviews the application and required evidences to determine if the child qualifies provisionally as a Hague case and then will provide a provisional approval which is transmitted to the U.S. Embassy in Lima. The embassy then requires that the visa application form and documents required be filed and once they have reviewed, they will grant what is called an Article 5 letter that is sent to SNA/MIMDES. This Article 5 letter must be issued before the family can travel and begin the adoption process. We will see how long this new process will take but hope that the family will be travelling in the next month or so.
Currently, we are accepting new applicants to adopt from the Waiting Angels program. Waiting Angels are children ages 5 and older, older sibling groups, and children with moderate to severe special needs.
July 2009
In mid June, there were some political changes in the Peruvian government that affected the leadership at SNA and MIMDES. The MIMDES minister resigned in the midst of a political crisis after a clash between police and indigenous protesters in the Peruvian jungle. Once the minister resigned, all the cabinet does the same including the vice minister and SNA’s Secretary. We are waiting to hear who will replace them.
This has happened several times before and does affect some of the processing work of adoptions such as updated waiting angels list and possibly matching sessions for adoptive parents.
Also, during this time MIMDES posted a notice to adoptive parents confirming what we have been experiencing in regards to processing times for families. MIMDES confirmed that they will only receive applications from entities that they have already been working with and are suspending accepting applications from any other entity. This means CAS can continue submitting applications. However, they also confirmed that there are over 300 approved families waiting on a match/referral of a child and some have been waiting 2-3 years for a match.
CAS had already taken a proactive approach in that we are only accepting applications from families who are open to adopting a child from the waiting angels list which is a list of children 5 and older, older sibling groups, or children with moderate to severe special needs. We are not accepting applications at this time from families wishing to adopt a healthy child under the age of 5 due to the anticipated wait times given by Peru. As we see some of our waiting families receive a match and travel, we will evaluate when we can accept new applicant families into the regular match program.
June 2009
We currently have a family in Peru completing the adoption of their children. Congratulations!
Our other families are waiting on SNA to provide a match of a child or children to them. One of our families waiting on a match recently returned from a visit to Peru where they were able to meet with our attorney Dr. Julio Barrenechea. They enjoyed their visit and Dr. Barrenechea was able to take them to SNA to meet with officials there about the process. The family was informed that it is SNA’s goal to match families within 12 months after they receive their approval, although sometimes it does take longer depending on the expectations of the family and the children available.
Currently our agency is accepting applications from families who are interested in adopting a child from the Waiting Angels List which is a list of children 5 and older, older sibling groups, or children of any age that have special needs. Please contact Angela Jackson if you are interested in applying to the Waiting Angels Program.
May 2009
We had a family return home with their daughter at the end of April! Congratulations and welcome home. This family adopted a child from the Waiting Angels Program.
Our other families that have been approved by Peru continue to wait for the match of their child. SNA holds a monthly matching session at the end of each month to match children who have become legally eligible for adoption that month. If a child is not matched to an approved family at that monthly session, they are sent to the Waiting Angels List where they remain until a family asks for them. The Waiting Angels List is comprised of children over 5, older sibling groups, children with special medical needs, or children who have special needs but further testing is needed to determine their exact diagnosis. The government does not have the financial resources to do the testing. Peru is focusing on placing these “waiting angels” with loving families. We are currently accepting a limited number of applications only from families who are interested in adopting a child from the Waiting Angels program. We are not currently accepting applications from families who wish to adopt a child under the age of 4 with minimal health issues. For more information about the Peru adoption program, contact Angela Jackson.
To view past Peru adoption program updates, please see our CAS Publications page and click on the Monthly Country Updates.