Haiti Blog

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A long awaited study on adoption identity formation was recently published by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.  A New York Times article about the study can be found here. A full study summary can be found on the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute website by clicking here.  We encourage every adoptive parent to check out this excellent study.  Also, adoption workers are encouraged to study the findings and consider how best to prepare families for the unique issues of identity formation their adopted child will face.  We greatly appreciate the time and effort spent on this wonderful resource.

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The process of adopting a child who is HIV+ just got easier, and we are so thankful that the additional step for adopting a child who is HIV+ is being eliminated. This has been posted by Joint Council on International Children's Services.
 
"President Obama announced on Friday, October 30 2009, that the travel ban into the United States by individuals with HIV would be lifted.  Kathleen G. Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, stated earlier today “we will publish a rule in the Federal Register announcing that the United States will drop HIV from the list of diseases barring visitors from entering this country, effective Jan. 1, 2010.”
 
"The lifting of this ban will eliminate the filing of a 601-waiver application for children who are HIV positive and adopted by U.S. citizens."

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Did you know that NOVEMBER is "National Adoption Month" in the United States?

The History of Adoption Month (taken from "NACAC:" North American Council on Adoptable Children) Formalized, time-specific adoption awareness campaigns originated more than 20 years ago. In May 1976, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued the first state Adoption Week proclamation, and President Ford then officially proclaimed the week in a letter to the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) conference held later that year. As years went on, Adoption Week came to be observed during the week of Thanksgiving in November.

In 1986, NACAC helped coordinate a national "Calling Out" event based on an idea from Larry Gellerstein, then president of the Adoptive Parent Committee of New York. That year groups across North America braved late November weather and simultaneously assembled on state and provincial capitol steps to read statements about waiting children, and call out the names of waiting children in their state or province.

In 1990, NACAC decided to expand opportunities for raising awareness, and began advertising Adoption Week as National Adoption Awareness Month (November). The idea has quickly caught on, and Adoption Month has celebrated ever since.

In 2005, a Presidential Proclamation of November 19 marked "National Adoption Day" where thousands of children across the United States have their adoption finalized in court!  

CELEBRATE ADOPTION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As an adoptive family, what can you do to celebrate National Adoption Month?  

- contact your local schools and help them celebrate too
- contact your local child care facilities and ask them to celebrate adoption too
- connect with your employer/HR and start an adoption benefit
- start an adoptive family support group in your area
- plan a community gathering with your local adoptive families support groups
- write a letter (and send a photo) to your congress person to help encourage their support
- write a letter to your child's birth/first parents, expressing your emotions
- write a letter to your child telling them how much you love them
- work on or look at your child's Lifebook
- plan a family outing
- sponsor an orphan in your child's birth-country
- start an adoption ministry at your church
- have a fundraiser/garage sale/bake-off/silent auction at church... to benefit your child's orphanage/adoption expenses
- have siblings in the home write about "what adoption means to them"
- look into culture camps and homeland tours for your family
- learn something fun about your child's birth-country or birth-culture
- go out to eat or cook ethnic food
- make a tradition of having a family photo taken every November ... then send it out with Christmas cards!
- write a letter/story to your local newspaper educating about adoption
- pray for birth/first families, foster families, orphanage caretakers, adoptive families, and orphaned children around the world ... that they may celebrate the Blessings of adoption too

CELEBRATE ADOPTION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Dixie, from God's Littlest Angels has recently provided additional information on how the court process is proceeding as a result of the new requirement that parents must make a second trip to Haiti. She had posted an update on GLA's website earlier in the week; however, she was trying to find out more information and so I was waiting to send an update until I had more information to pass along.

After a family has traveled to Haiti and signed for the local judge, the judge issues a new "process verbal" (one of the legal documents that is part of the child's dossier) to be added to the child's dossier. This new process verbal reflects that a parent has traveled and met their child. Originally Dixie had been told that a new process verbal would not be required for families who did not meet with the judge, and that for these families, they would only need to show evidence that the family had been to Haiti. However, this week, Dixie has found out that a new process verbal is required for these families too. Once the new process verbals have been issued by the local judge, they must be added to the child's dossier. For families not yet in the Court process, this will not change their process at all except for having to have this additional document issued. However, for families currently in the Court process, their dossiers must be returned to Parquet to have the Parquet approval's date changed to reflect the date on the new process verbal. Dixie is not expecting that this will be a long process; she is not expecting these dossiers to get mixed with the dossiers that are currently in the Parquet stage. Once the change has been made to the Parquet approval, the complete dossier will return to the courts. Dossiers that have already received court approval are not impacted by these changes.

There are still some unknowns as this is still a new process; however, hopefully this helps clarify some questions families may have.

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Dixie, from God's Littlest Angels, has sent the following information regarding the new requirement for families to make two trips to Haiti. This newly required trip can be made in combination with filing the I-600. It is only a short trip of three or four days. If families have already traveled to Haiti to file their I-600, another trip to appear in front of a judge is not required. Please contact your local branch if you have any further questions about this new requirement.

"Recently, the Adoption Judge responsible for all of Port-au-Prince made the decision that all adoptive parents must make a trip to Haiti, meet the children, and sign a form in front of the justice of the peace (the local judge that we use in Kenscoff)  before the final court decision would be approved.  He made this decision on his own without any input from IBESR, the Minister of Justice, or any of the other judges.
 
"This judge, Mr. Cadet, attended a meeting on the Hague Convention and Haiti was shown as a country that had badly managed adoption procedures.  On his return, he decided to make all adoptive parents come to Haiti and meet their children before the finalization of the adoption.  
 
"Haitian law says that it is legal to be represented by another person living in Haiti.  Mr. Cadet has decided that this does not apply to this one section of the law that says that adoptive parents must appear before the Justice of the Peace at the beginning of the adoption process.  
 
"Mr. Cadet has been inflexible about his decision and does not want to change his opinion.  The French Embassy has tried to negotiate without any results.  After the summer holidays, the French Embassy along with other countries, will try to work something out with IBESR and UNICEF about this situation.
 
"Many orphanages are now requiring adoptive parents to come to Haiti.  GLA will also now require our parents to come.  ALL ADOPTIVE PARENTS MUST APPEAR IN FRONT OF THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE BEFORE YOUR ADOPTION CAN BE FINALIZED IN THE CIVIL COURT. For American Families, we will try to do this at the same time as you file your I-600. American families, who have already been to Haiti to file their I-600 and can prove this with a copy of their entry visa into Haiti, do not need to come again.  If there is a husband and a wife, then both of them must come to Haiti unless there is a medical problem with one of the couple that does not allow them to come into Haiti.
 
"We will first be giving priority to families whose files are currently in the Courts stage. After that, will be families that are in Parquet. And lastly, families that are in IBESR or before. Please note if your file has already passed through Courts, then you do not need to come.
 
"We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience this will cause our families.  We have fought through our lawyer and through the Association of Orphanages to get this changed without any success.  The bottom line is that if you want your child home in a timely fashion then you must come to Haiti and appear in front of the Justice of the Peace."

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Yesterday was a very good IBESR day! We had five families receive IBESR approvals. These included families who needed presidential dispensations, and also families who did not. One of these families had been in IBESR for over a year, and so we celebrate with them that they finally received their approval. Congratulations to the other families who received their approval as well. We continue to pray for those familes who are still waiting for presidential dispensations and IBESR approvals.

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It is hard to believe that Summer is nearing its completion, and children are preparing to head back to school. We have found a nice collection of back-to-school adoption-related articles here, and here that we think you will find informative.

You may also be interested in one of the upcoming JCICS parent-specific webinars.  These webinars are nice opportunities for you to learn about one aspect of adoption in a unique and innovative format.  For information, check out the JCICS website.

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Joint Council Haitian Children & Families Initiative

Dear Friends,   Over the past three years, the processing of adoptions in Haiti have slowed to a crawl.   Abandoned children are enduring adoption processes lasting two or three years before being united with adoptive families.   Not only is such lasting institutional care damaging to the children who wait and wait, but the slowed process has had a negative effect on the many desperately needy children of Haiti who are not waiting in orphanages.  Orphanages in Haiti have traditionally been providers of humanitarian aid to their communities.  Many support free medical clinics, schools, feeding programs and family preservation programs.  Orphanages have been a resource for temporary care for children following a family crisis, such as a fire or illness.  But now that children are languishing in orphanage care for years, orphanage directors report that the beds are full, the food and medicine supplies are insufficient, and the children needing temporary care are left on the streets with little prospect for life.    In a laudable effort to move towards transparent and democratic government, Haitian officials are now adhering to the Haitian Constitutional law regarding adoption, written in 1974 by Jean Claude Duvalier.  While the law of 1974 places severe limitations on the size and age of those who may adopt, it does allow for Presidential Dispensation for those not meeting the family size or age limitations.   Unfortunately, Haiti lacks an organized and transparent system for obtaining Dispensations.  This confusion along with the absence of a sense of urgency regarding institutionalized children has caused extensive delays in the adoption process and further victimizes children who have already lost much.    Haiti has a pending solution to this legal logjam.  A newly proposed adoption law will clarify who may adopt, increase protections for Haitian children, their birth parents, and adoptive families, and streamline the adoption process.  This legislation is supported by the United States and French governments along with the NGO community and UNICEF.   The children of Haiti, the crèche directors who serve them and the adoptive families who wish to raise them need your help.  We must encourage the Haitian government to pass the new adoption law and efficiently grant Dispensations in the interim.     What can you do?  Make five simple phone calls and write one letter.   1.     Call your U.S. Senator.   ·         You can find your Senators’ phone numbers at www.senate.gov ·         Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff   2.   Call your second U.S. Senator.   3.   Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative. ·         You can find your representative at www.house.gov ·         Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff     4.     Call or fax UNICEF Haiti ·         Ask to speak with Julie Bergeron ·         Their number is 011-509- 2245-3525 ·         Their fax number is 011-502- 2245-1877 ·         Her email address is jbergeron@unicef.org Please note that calls and faxes to Haiti are international calls   5.     Write letters for the Haitian Prime Minister, President of the Haitian Senate, and the Minister of Social Welfare. ·         Your letter can contain the same information as specified below. If you are an adoptive family or are close to a Haitian-born adopted child, insert a picture of the child or your family in your letter. ·         Describe your family’s commitment to Haitian culture and the country’s well being as a result of your contact with a Haitian-born adopted child. ·         Mail your letter to Holt International, which has volunteered to collect letters and transport them to Haiti for hand delivery to the above government officials.   Holt International Haitian Children & Families Initiative P.O. Box 2880 Eugene, OR 97402   6.     Forward this message to everyone you know who cares about the welfare of abandoned children in Haiti.  Individuals need not be personally involved in a Haitian adoption to let their voices be heard on behalf of children who have no one to speak for them!     When should you call?  August 13th, 14th, and 17th   ·         For maximum affect, we are asking you to make these calls within a 72 hour window!     What should you say or write to member of the U.S. Congress? Speak from your heart and give them the following information. ·         Inform them that you are calling regarding Joint Council Haitian Children & Families Initiative ·         Inform them that the Haitian international adoption process is unreasonably delayed. ·         Inform them that children referred to U.S. families are anguishing in institutions ·         Inform them that the backlog of children in the process of adoption is preventing orphanages, who serve as local humanitarian aid providers, from continuing to assist their communities. ·         Inform them that due to the interruption of services provided by the orphanages, Haitian children outside the orphanages are needlessly dying. ·         Ask that their office to sign the Dear Colleague letter regarding the pending Haitian adoption law, sponsored by Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Senator Sam Brownback.  The letter asks that adoptions currently in process be speedily granted Presidential Dispensation and that the new adoption law be passed.   Sample Statement   Hello,   We are calling/writing on behalf of the Haitian Children & Families Initiative. We, as your constituents, are asking that the Senator/Congressperson sign the Dear Colleague letter regarding the pending Haitian adoption law, sponsored by Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Senator Sam Brownback.   As you may be aware, the Haitian adoption process is unreasonably delayed. Children already matched with adoptive families are languishing in orphanages for two and three years.  The orphanages, which have traditionally served as humanitarian aid outreach centers, have run out of resources and are no longer able to offer assistance to their communities.  Haitian children outside the orphanages are dying needlessly as a direct result of the delayed adoptions.   Your office must get involved and sign the Dear Colleague letter to support the Haitian government in their effort to assist the homeless and abandoned children of Haiti.   Sincerely,   <your name and contact information>     What should you say or write to UNICEF? Speak from your heart and give them the following information. ·         Inform them that you are calling regarding the Joint Council Haitian Children & Families Initiative ·         Ask them to support the rights of children and lend their considerable influence to ensuring that intercountry adoptions currently in-process be speedily processed to completion under the existing Presidential Dispensation clause. ·         Inform them that many adoptions are taking two or three years to process, during which time children languish in orphanages. ·         Inform them that due to the overextension of their resources, orphanages are no longer able to provide their traditional humanitarian aid services to their communities, such as free schools, medical care, temporary child care for families in crisis, and family preservation programs. ·         Inform them that as a direct result of the orphanage’s inability to provide humanitarian aid due to overly taxed resources, children are needlessly dying in the streets outside the orphanages. ·         Ask them again for their support of the Presidential Dispensation and the swift passage of the new adoption law.   Sample Statement   Hello,   ·         We are calling/writing on behalf of the Joint Council Haitian Children & Families Initiative ·         As financial supporters of UNICEF (through our tax dollars), we are asking that UNICEF lends its support and considerable influence to the Joint Council Haitian Children & Families Initiative   As you may be aware, the Haitian adoption process is unreasonably delayed. Children already matched with adoptive families are languishing in orphanages for two and three years.  The orphanages, which have traditionally served as humanitarian aid outreach centers, have run out of resources and are no longer able to offer assistance to their communities.  Haitian children outside the orphanages are dying needlessly as a direct result of the delayed adoptions.     UNICEF must get involved to ensure that adoptions in process be speedily granted Presidential Dispensation so that they can be completed in a timely manner, and that the new adoption law be passed.   Sincerely,   <your name and contact information>       Can you explain the problem behind the current crisis?  Here is some additional information… ·         The current constitutional law, written in 1974 by Jean Claude Duvalier, severely restricts who may adopt from Haiti.  The only method by which the Haitian government may permit adoptions to non-conforming families is via Presidential Dispensation. ·         The lack of a defined and efficient Dispensation process has caused delays of up to three years for children in the adoption process. Prolonged institutionalization has been scientifically proven to be highly detrimental to children. ·         As orphanages expend their limited resources caring for children in the process of adoption over extended periods, they are unable to provide their traditional humanitarian aid programs to their communities. ·         The existing adoption law provides almost no protection for the rights of abandoned children, their birth parents, or adoptive families.  It offers no safe guards against human trafficking. ·         A proposed adoption law will alleviate the crisis by standardizing and streamlining adoptions, and will far better protect abandoned Haitian children from child trafficking.

What else can you do?  In addition to your primary calls to U.S. Congress and UNICEF, you can contact the Haitian Embassy:     Embassy of Haiti in the U.S. 2311 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008 Office Phone  1- 202.332.4090 Office Fax 1- 202-745-7215 embassy@haiti.org

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We spoke to Dixie, director of God's Littlest Angels, on Friday regarding rumors that the main Judge of the Adoption Court in Port au Prince may start requiring families to make a trip to Haiti as soon as they receive a referral. According to the adoption law, families can designate a power of attorney to act on their behalf for all adoption matters. Therefore, the Judge now asking for this goes against the adoption law. Dixie has been in close communication with her attorney regarding this matter, and the attorney has suggested a letter writing campaign to the Judge. The attorney has drafted a letter (both in English and in French) for families to sign. She has also asked families that have already been referred a child to attach a photo of their child, as well as a photo of the adoptive parents, to the letter to hopefully help the judge to recognize that these children and families are waiting to be united, rather than just names on stacks of papers. Families who have already completed the adoption process are also encouraged to write letters thanking the judge for uniting their families. For more information, please see Dixie's post on the GLA website - http://www.glahaiti.org/adoption_news. A draft of the letter that GLA's attorney has written can be found below. Families may copy this letter into a new document, sign it, and insert a picture of their child, as well as of themselves to the bottom of the letter, or onto another sheet of paper and attach it to the letter.

A DHL packet with documents is sent to Haiti on a weekly basis, and so families may send their letters to Bethany International for prompt delivery to GLA. On Dixie's post on the website, she has given GLA's Florida address as the address to where families can send their letters. However, the letters will reach Haiti more quickly if they are sent by DHL, and so we are offering to send these letters for our families. Please send letters to:

Bethany Christian Services
Attn: LaDawn Penner
901 Eastern Avenue, NE
PO Box 294
Grand Rapids, MI  49501-0294

The adoption attorneys in Haiti are continuing with negotiations with this Judge. At this time, Dixie is not asking families to begin traveling to Haiti as soon as they receive their referrals as the negotiations are still taking place. However, please be advised that if you are currently waiting for a referral, this may be a possibility. If this did happen, families would be able to see the judge and file their I-600 on the same trip, so it would not mean adding a third trip to the process.


SAMPLE LETTER IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH:

To the Head Judge of the First Instance Court in Port-au-Prince

Mr. Rock Cadet

Dear Judge Cadet,

We are writing to you as parents desiring to adopt a Haitian child. We are very surprised by your new decision to refuse our power of attorney made in our country and legalized at the Haitian Embassy.

We want you to consider, Judge Cadet, that according to the policies in some countries; it is not acceptable to come to meet the children until the adoption process is finished. We also worry about the psychological effects on the children of us visiting and then possibly IBESR refusing our adoption petition.

Therefore, we are asking you to please reconsider your decision and accept the adoption documents legally signed by our power of attorney who is our legal representative in Haiti.

We are counting on your understanding, and pray that you will receive our heartfelt greetings.

Sincerely,

Au Doyen du tribunal de Premiere Instance de Port-au-Prince

Monsieur Rock Cadet

En ses bureau

Monsieur,

Nous, parents désireux d’adopter des enfants Haitiens, sommes stupéfaits par la nouvelle decision que vous avez prise selon laquelle nos mandats de procuration qui ont été donnés par devant les consuls de votre pays accrédités á l’étranger ne sont plus acceptés.

Nous vous informons, Monsieur le Doyen, que selon la loi du pays d’origine de certains d’entre avant la fin de la procedure d’adoption.

Par contre nous vous demandons de croire en notre bonne foi et d’accepter d’homologuer les proces verbaux d’adoption dans lesquels nous avions été légalement représentés par nos mandants.

Tout en comptant sur votre comprehension nous vous prions de recevoir nos salutions distinguées.

Sincerement,

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