ICBF WAIT LIST STATISTICS

By -
ICBF recently published its mid-year report (July 29, 2011) on Adoption statistics. I intend to highlight this report over the next few days. Today, I wanted to adress the number of families currently approved to adopt through ICBF.

As of July 29, 2011, there were 124 Colombian families on the Colombian wait list. This list is prioritized over all other lists. In years past, there was practically no wait list for Colombians.

When we processed our adoption in 2006, there was NO COLOMBIAN FAMILY WAIT LIST. The referrals were practically instantaneous. For example, we submitted our paperwork to ICBF and were approved within 2 weeks. The week following our approval our dossier was sent to the Bogotá regional office and the next week we had a referral -- 4 weeks total. Now, that was considered fast even then, but most of the Colombian families we knew at the time were going through the same process in no more than 6-8 weeks.

Today, however, it seems to be taking 3-6 months from submission to referral. Why? Because there is now a Colombian only wait list. This list has the greatest impact on children ages 0-36 months because it seems that many Colombian families are most interested in adopting healthy younger children -- though this is changing some.

This truly is great news for Colombian children. It means more children will grow up with a connection to their homeland and home culture.

How does this impact other waiting families? It will inevitably make the wait longer for foreign families because Colombian families jump to the front of the line -- no matter how long others might have been waiting.

Tomorrow I will discuss the number of families on the the Foreign Family Wait List.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

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