19 January 2010

Haitian Orphans in Adoption Process Allowed to Enter U.S.

Humanitarian action affects hundreds of children already awaiting adoption

 

Haitian orphans in the process of being adopted arrive in Pennsylvania after their orphanage was destroyed in the earthquake.

Haitian orphans in the process of being adopted arrive in Pennsylvania after their orphanage was destroyed in the earthquake.

By Jeffrey Thomas
Staff Writer

Washington — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced January 18 that Haitian orphans who were in the process of being adopted by Americans before the recent earthquake and who met certain criteria would be allowed to enter the United States temporarily to be united with their adoptive parents.

“We are committed to doing everything we can to help reunite families in Haiti during this very difficult time,” said Napolitano, who said she was speaking in coordination with the U.S. Department of State. “While we remain focused on family reunification in Haiti, authorizing the use of humanitarian parole for orphans who are eligible for adoption in the United States will allow them to receive the care they need here.”

Humanitarian parole enables orphans who are in the process of being adopted to come to the United States without a visa.

One group of 53 Haitian orphans was escorted January 19 on a flight from Haiti by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and other officials. The orphans and their caretakers reportedly spent days after the earthquake in need of food and water. After receiving medical care at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, they will be placed in group homes until their adoptions are finalized, according to news reports.

While there is no definite figure for those affected by this “humanitarian parole policy,” the figure is almost certainly no more than 1,000.

In a news briefing January 18, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs and Overseas Citizens Services Michele Bond spoke of “several hundred Americans in the United States who were in various stages in the process of adopting Haitian children.”

She said the U.S. Embassy in Haiti has processed immigrant visas for 24 orphan children whose cases were ready for visa processing.

 

These Haitian orphans were in the process of being adopted when their orphanage was destroyed. They arrived January 19 in Pittsburgh.

These Haitian orphans were in the process of being adopted when their orphanage was destroyed. They arrived January 19 in Pittsburgh.

“It’s extremely important to remember that the best interests of the child are at the heart of all of this, and so we do want them to be where they’re safe, clearly, and we want them to be well cared for,” Bond said. (See “U.S. Says International Adoption Important for Children in Need.”)

The number of U.S. international adoptions from Haiti in fiscal year 2009 (from October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009) was 330, according to the State Department. The number fluctuates from year to year but has averaged 226 over the last 12 years. Since international adoption is a lengthy, multi-year process in Haiti, the number of adoptions in the pipeline is likely to be a multiple of the average annual number.

Napolitano’s action affects two groups:

• Children who have been legally confirmed as orphans eligible for intercountry adoption by the government of Haiti and are being adopted by U.S. citizens.

• Children who have been previously identified by an adoption service provider or facilitator as eligible for intercountry adoption (evidence of the child’s availability for adoption could include Haitian Adoption Authority approval, documentation of legal relinquishment or award of custody to the Haitian orphanage, or other evidence) and have been matched to U.S.-citizen prospective adoptive parents before January 12, 2010.

Children adopted from Haiti range from infants and young children to teens, special-needs children and sibling groups.

About 800 to 900 U.S. families are in the process of adopting children from Haiti, according to Tom DiFilipo, president of the Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS), an advocacy group for children in need of families.

On its Web site, the JCICS cites the many new offers from ordinary Americans to adopt orphaned Haitians, but says no credible child welfare organization considers such an approach viable. “Bringing children into the U.S. either by airlift or new adoption during a time of national emergency can open the door for fraud, abuse and trafficking. Every effort must be made in a timely fashion to locate living parents and extended family members.”

See the fact sheet on “Humanitarian Parole Policy for Certain Haitian Orphans.”

For more information on international adoption, see “Internationally Adopted Children Are Thriving, Study Shows.”