New Age Guidelines for Colombian Families

By -
ICBF recently announced a major change in the adoptions process. This will significantly impact adoptive families of Colombian origin. In turn, this will also have an impact on foreign families who are on the waiting list to adopt. Let me explain.

Previously all adoptive parents -- Colombian or Foreign --wishing to adopt a child younger than 36 months (0-3 years) needed to be 38 years of age or younger. Now, while foreign adoptive parents must still be younger than 38 years of age, Colombian adoptive parents may be up to 40 years of age to qualify to adopt from this youngest age category.

Additional changes include: Colombian families 41-45 years of age may adopt a child 3-4 years of age, while foreign families must be 39-41 years of age. Colombian families wishing to adopt a 5-6 year old will be between 46-50 years of age, and foreign families for this same category must be between 42-45 years of age. Finally, Colombians up to 54 years of age may adopt a child as young as 7 years of age. Foreigners must be younger than 49 to do the same.

This change was made in hopes of encouraging more Colombians to adopt Colombian children. Might I first say that this is really wonderful news for Colombian kids because it means that more children will be able to remain in their birth country, or at least have one parent from that country.

This, however, could potentially impact the wait lists for all of these categories. In fact, ICBF writes in a footnote on the new document "The Wait List for these age ranges may be impacted by this change." It is unknown to me how many Colombian families are currently on the wait list, however, this change might encourage more Colombians to consider adoption, and all Colombians, whether in Colombia or living abroad, receive priority over all foreign families in the process of adoption.

Comments

Anonymous said…
wow, thanks for that information. I have been following your blog closely and enjoy the content. always so enlightening. I am a Colombian adoptee and find this information very helpful in staying connected with Colombian culture.

Joshua Miguel
October 21, 2010 at 3:57 PM
tara said…
Thanks for this information. Do you know if these ages refer to the parents' age at time the dossier is submitted or the age at time of adoption, because in some cases there are many years difference between the two.
October 23, 2010 at 11:22 PM
Colombian Mommy said…
The age refers to the age of parents at the time their dossier is approved by ICBF. And again remember only Colombian Families have had a change is adoptive parent age range.
October 24, 2010 at 6:32 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Popular Colombian Names

By -
Recently, I was asked to write a post on Colombian names, and popular Colombian names. I had a hard time finding a list, but eventually I did find one. According to I.N.E. - Instituto Nacional de Estadística, -- unfortunately, when I found this it doesn't say the year -- the most common Colombian boys names across all ages are: 1 JUAN CARLOS 2 CARLOS ALBERTO 3 ALEXANDER 4 ANDRES FELIPE 5 LUIS FERNANDO 6 DIEGO FERNANDO 7 JHON JAIRO 8 CARLOS ANDRES 9 ALEJANDRO 10 JUAN DAVID The girls are: 1 SANDRA MILENA 2 LUZ MARINA 3 CAROLINA 4 PAULA ANDREA 5 CLAUDIA PATRICIA 6 MARIA EUGENIA 7 PAOLA ANDREA 8 DANIELA 9 LILIANA 10 MARTHA CECILIA Just as here, names go through ebb and flow. Fourteen years ago when we were married, I attended several baby baptisms and met numerous friends of my husband. At the time, it seemed like everyone was naming their kid Juan CAMILO (boy) or Maria CAMILA (girl). I met dozens of them. Then, about 7 years later, I heard tons of SANTIAGO, JULIAN, SEBASTIAN and FE
Read more

Muisca Indigenous Names, from Hunza (Tunja)

By -
In response to this week’s posts on names, I have received several e-mails asking about the names of famous Colombians and their stories and about Indigenous names. I plan to spend the next three days sharing some of them. Also, I will continue to post more in the future and you will be able to find them all by clicking on the NAMES link the LABELS section to the right of the blog. Name: AQUIMÍN ( pronounced: ah key MEAN) or AQUIMINZAQUE (pronounced: ah key mean ZAH kay) When the Spanish arrived on the plains of Bogotá, 1536, they found a great nation. In fact, it was the third largest group of indigenous inhabitants in America. They called themselves the Muiscas , which meant ‘the people’. Their language was called Chibcha . The Muiscas were not a united group, but rather a collection of city states. The majority of the power was held by two main cities – what today are called Bogotá and Tunja (in Boyacá). These two cities were mortal enemies and each enlisted the loy
Read more

La Madremonte

By -
Image
The myth of the Madremonte (Mother Mountain), and I do say myth though many campesinos in Colombia believe in her today, has it's roots in the indigenous cultures of Colombia and is known throughout much of Colombia including Antioquia, Caldas, Arauca, Caqueta, Amazonas, Guainia, and perhaps more departments. The Madremonte looks like a large woman. She has large, bony hands, large teeth and Betty Davis Eyes -- which on closer examination glow. Her body is covered in leaves and moss. Her hair is a tangled mess of plants and moss which often covers her face. She lives in the mountains and jungles, (in Antioquia and Caldas she lives in swamps where streams are born. People who claim to have seen her, usually report to have done so near thickets and bushes in jungle like areas. Others report having heard her bloodcurdling screams and groans on stormy nights. She rules the winds, the rains, and all the vegetation, and her role is to protect nature. She punishes those who invad
Read more