Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is bordered by the United States to the north and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. Mexico is about one-fifth the size of the United States. Baja California in the west is an 800-mile (1,287-km) peninsula that forms the Gulf of California. In the east are the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche, which is formed by Mexico’s other peninsula, the Yucatán. The center of Mexico is a great, high plateau, open to the north, with mountain chains on the east and west and with ocean-front lowlands beyond. It is the second most populous country in Latin America. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, its capital and largest city. The Hispanic culture is warm and friendly. There is a domestic adoption program available to Mexican citizens – these families generally get preference in child placement before foreign adopters.
Mexico is party to The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). Therefore, all intercountry adoptions between Mexico and the United States must meet the requirements of the Convention and U.S. law implementing the Convention. Mexican adoptions are conducted through a collaborative effort of a Hague accredited adoption agency in the U.S. and by the Mexican Central Adoption Authority (DIF).
Referrals are provided by National System for Family Development (DIF) of the Mexican state the child resides in. The referral will contain basic information on child’s medical and social background and pictures. Referral time depends on the profiles of the child(ren) a family looks to adopt. Four to five trips to Mexico are likely required, though each Mexican state may have different requirements. The length of the trips may range from 3 days to 3 weeks in length
Within 30 days of your arrival home, you must have a home visit by your home study provider. Your home study provider will then prepare post-adoption reports and submit them to Nightlight every 6 months after homecoming for the first three years. These reports include your child’s developmental progress and pictures. This is a very serious commitment. Compliance with post adoption reports is also required by The Hague Convention. Therefore, Nightlight charges a fee to monitor and process these post placement reports and also requires families to pay for the cost of the post placement report in advance.
To learn more about adopting from Mexico, you may contact us, email Camila Ariza at Camila@nightlight.org or call her at (502) 423-5780
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