International Adoption - Guatemala

Families United Network is excited to offer our client families the opportunity to adopt infants and young children from Guatemala!

Children adopted from Guatemala are often referred to waiting families when they are less than three months old. For this reason, these children can arrive in their adoptive homes when they are still quite young.

Guatemala is one of the few countries around the world that permits abandoned newborn infants to be placed in foster homes rather than orphanages. For this and other reasons, the majority of these children join their adoptive families in good health and are developmentally on target for their age. Research studies also indicate that young children raised in foster care adapt to living with their adoptive families faster than children raised in orphanages.

Why should I consider adopting a child from Guatemala with the assistance of Families United Network?

The adoption professionals at Families United Network understand the importance of developing supportive partnerships with all of our client families. We realize that regardless of the number of adoption placements that we complete, every client family will have their own unique adoption journey. We encourage our client families to be active participants throughout their adoption process and we will strive to answer all of your adoption questions and concerns in a timely manner.

In addition the agency's network of adoption professionals in Guatemala have placed more than 1,000 children in adoptive homes and collectively have more than 50 years of international adoption experience. They are also registered with the United States Consulate in Guatemala City and are in good standing.

Unique advantages of partnering with Families United Network's Guatemalan Adoption Program:

The adoption staff at Families United Network allow and encourage our client families to correspond by e-mail with our adoption professionals in Guatemala. At the beginning of our partnering relationship, we suggest that our client families write a brief letter of introduction to one or more of our adoption attorneys. It is also recommended that you ask them specific questions that are relevant to your unique adoption plan. The agency acts as a gatekeeper for these e-mail messages, and will forward them to the appropriate party throughout the adoption process. By offering our client families this unique service, we enable them to take a more active role in the adoption of their son or daughter.

The adoption staff at Families United Network realize by assisting you in expanding your family through adoption, that we play a pivotal role in the lives of our client families and in the lives of many abandoned children in Guatemala. We are grateful for the confidence and trust that you place in us to successfully complete your adoption. However, you, not agency staff will be legally responsible for raising your adopted son or daughter from the date of finalization. For this reason, Families United Network does not "match" available children with our client families. Instead, our agency will forward all available referral information on children that fit your criteria to you for review. When referrals are rejected for any reason, new referrals will be forwarded in a timely manner, as possible. Typically our client families will have three to five days to notify us if they plan to accept or reject placement referrals.

I/we are considering to adopt an infant or young child from Guatemala. What do you recommend that we should do at this time?

The adoption staff at Families United Network recommend that you call us toll free at 1-800-711-5963, e-mail Geoffrey Clauss, our Director of Private Adoptions at You may also use the “Request Additional Information” link below to complete an online request form. Regardless of how you choose to contact us, we will be happy to address any adoption-related questions that you may have before you move ahead with your adoption plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Steps to complete a Guatemalan Adoption

Request Additional Information