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With paperwork, communication and all else disrupted by Tuesday's magnitude-7 earthquake in Haiti, would-be parents of children still on the island are facing new roadblocks to finalizing adoptions.
Take Washington couple Kendra and Brett Schlenbaker, who began their quest to adopt two Haitian siblings in December 2006. The adoption paperwork needed just two more signatures before the Schlenbakers could bring Dejennika and Djouvensky -- who are safe in Haiti after the quake -- home. But the couple are nearly certain that in the aftermath of the disaster, the Haitian government will not have the infrastructure to sign off or even find their papers.
They are now working with U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., and an aide to push for emergency visas and passports that would allow the children to leave the country immediately. “I just want the government to give me my kids,” she said. (More on this story here.)
On community site MomLogic.com, another mom posted about her 4-year-old son who is "trapped in Haiti." "Right now, my feelings as Isaac's mom are that my husband needs to go over there and bring him home," she writes. "He is our son, and he belongs with his mother and father. Especially now."
Do you have a child you’re waiting to adopt in Haiti, or do you know someone who does? If you have adopted internationally, can you offer advice or resources for parents trying to finalize adoptions in Haiti? Share your thoughts here.
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We are currently in almost the same situation as the Schlenbaker family. We are adopting siblings from Bresma orphanage in Petionville. The two children were declared legally ours by Haitian courts but we are currently awaiting a visa and passport. We have been down to visit 3 times in the last year. We were also planning to visit there this weekend but our flight has since been cancelled and our hotel has collasped.
The children are safe now at the orphanage but I believe their situation as well as everyone else's will become worse in upcoming weeks and months as constant support and aid will be needed to keep this country alive.
Joint Council on Internation Child Services (JCICS)is currently trying to work with USCIS to get them to provide humanitarian/parole visas to orphaned/abandoned child in Haiti. I urge all adopted parents of Haitian children to contact their state representatives and urge them to assist JCICS in their efforts. For more info go to www.jcics.org
May the Good Lord bless your big hearts! We could use more big hearts such as yours!
My husband and I are also adopting a son who is at an orphanage in Haiti. He is at God's Littlest Angel's orphanage. We have contacted our two senators in California. We are looking to unite together with other parents in California especially, but anywhere really, so that we can band together to get the Humanitarian Parole or anything that will allow our children to come home. If we unite together we can make more of an impact.
I may not be an adoptive mom....yet, but over the weekend the Haitian Ambassador to the US was on CNN and said that what people didn't know was that when you need a Haitian passport and you're outside Haiti, those passports are issued from Washington DC. They were on TV with an orphanage in Haiti, the ambassador and a family from the US. Also, they told the orphanage director in Haiti that if they had copies of the paperwork that would suffice for now. Maybe people waiting can validate this with their orphanages and get in touch with the Haitian embassy here in DC and expedite the process. Good Luck, I hope this helped. Check with CNN too!
My husband and I have adopted internationally twice, including one process marred by red tape hiccups (which I know does not truly compare to the current tragedy). My biggest piece of advice is this: Do not be afraid to reach out to your elected officials! Group together with other families in your same situation and call out to your congressmen/women and senators. Also, reach out to your agency for information and emotional support. Be proactive. Do not be shy.
My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy.
We have gone through 2 international adoptions. I agree! Any representatives will be ready and willing to listen and help right now. Do not be shy. I would think that any children they can get to safety and not have to worry about would be in their best interest right now. The agencies/government will be so overwhelmed initially though, remember that as you are dealing with people. The last thing you want to do is tick someone off. Be forceful and persistent without being rude if possible. I know when it is your children that are at risk that is an extremely difficult task.
Hoping & praying the best for all of you and your little ones.
i certainly feel for everyone, but I am curious. why do people adopt from abroad? is it easier or less red tape? do people really see adoption as an act of charity? if I was adopted, I'd hate to think that my parents saw me as charity case. are kids in the US any less worthy or in less need? i'm truly perplexed and would love some insight.
I think choosing where/when/how to adopt is different for every parent. We choose international adoption because my husband was also adopted from overseas, so that is how we decided to build our family as well. Never having pursued a domestic (US) adoption, I'm not able to really compare domestic and int'l adoptions as far as the difficulties and red tape, but I'm quite sure each would come with their own lengthy pros/cons lists.
I really hope no adoptive family thinks of their child as a charity case. That is one thing that makes my stomach lurch. If someone is looking to do something charitable for children, child sponsorships are plentiful. Adoption is for building families, not charitable work.
Peole adopt from overseas for the same reasons they adopt domestically, there are children without families & families who have room in their hearts for children. It doesn't have anything to do with worth, only opportunity. Sometimes there is more opportunity to adopt internationally than domestically.
My husband & I have adopted both internationally & domestically. There are difficulties with both types of adoption although they are very different. Ultimately the joys are the same!
Children in the US, to be honest, are not in the dire situations that orphaned children in other countries often are. I do not mean to imply that there are not difficult situations here but laws and living conditions in other places are far different. This often creates a greater number of children in need of forever homes.
My children (none of them) are in no way a charity case!! Let me make that clear. I never looked at it that way and never will. They are the children that were generously given to me. I am priveleged and blessed to have them. In the same way I hope that they will someday feel blessed to have me.
I hope for the children of Haiti that they will be able to come home to their waiting parents quickly. I also hope that the many children who will now certainly be in need of new parents and loving homes will get the counseling, support and ultimately the families they need and deserve. Whether those be in Haiti or abroad.
Adoptive parents are merely couples who want to build a family and are unable, or sometimes, unwilling, to do so the conventional way. Typically an adoptive parent or couple explores the extensive landscape of adoption sources both at home and abroad. Choosing a source is ultimately an individual choice based on a multitude of factors such as: qualifying criteria, availability of children of the desired age (not everyone wants an infant), length of process, costs, travel, legal issues, etc. In our case, the climate for domestic adoption at the time of our decision was frightening due to highly publicized cases such as "Baby M" and others. An adoptive parent bonds strongly desires a child before it even materializes, just like birth parents do. And this bond is indelible with the arrival of the first photograph, the same way birth parents feel with the first sonogram images. We chose international because, at the time, it presented the least likelihood of heartbreak or reversal. When you finally have the child you dreamed of and prayed for so long, the last thing you want to risk is having that child taken away from you.
People adopt abroad for many reasons. In the US, many children are not eiligible for adoption until they reach very late age. Some wish to adopt infants, or toddlers or siblings. I adopted my son from El Salvador during the civil war in the late 80s as a toddler. I was single. The US agencies (including government) would only allow me to adopt a severely handicapped child. I am not independently wealthy and could not afford not to work and take care of a child who needed so much care. At that time, some countries were allowing adoption by singles and also couples who were older than 38. The paperwork and trips to the embassies were endless during my adoption journey. It was adventure travelling to San Salvador during a "ceasefire." Believe me, any person, single or married, who wishes to adopt does so, not as a "charity case," but out of love. Yes, I was able to give my son a much better life than in El Salvador where poverty rules. However, I think that I have been blessed with much joy and happiness being his mom.
All parents who are anxiously waiting back in the States should contact every elected official they know (US congressmen, senators).
I do not think that anybody who adopts views their child as an act of charity. My husband and I wanted to have more children and decided that there were plenty of kids around that world that needed a family as well. After researching ALL adoption options it was in Haiti that we felt our kids were.
My husband and I adopted internationally mainly because the US adoption laws highly favor the rights of the birth mother vs. the child's. Our son's adoption was final before we ever brought him into the US; he was 100 percent ours, with no chance that the birth parents could try to claim him months down the line. Unfortunately, adopting from our foster care system can often be very heartbreaking because their goal is to unify the birth family, not necessarily to find new adoptive parents. We would happily adopt from the US (OF COURSE those children are just as deserving!), but the possibility of having our hearts broken is a huge deterrent. There are also not a whole lot of children available from birth in this country; it's as if there is a stigma that you're not a "good mother" if you give your child up for adoption. The American culture needs to support the idea that adoption is the best and most selfless thing you can do for your baby if you're unprepared; maybe then more Americans would be willing to take a chance on our adoption/foster care system.
Another poster asks "Why adopt internationally?" We adopted four children from US foster care. I do not question anyone who chooses to adopt internationally. How one chooses to build their family is an intensely private matter whether domestic or international. It is no one else's business. If the poster is serious about adoption, there are multiple websites which will help him/her decide if it is right for them.
Parents who adopt are not "saving" children. Anyone who adopts knows that. But it is clear that our government should do the right thing and speed up the VISAs for these families.
My heart goes out to these families.
I just wish someday I could adopt (if) I meet and marry someone who shares that wish too. I'm 48 years old and travel for my living so having a child on my own would not be possible. But I am so glad that so many Americans see adoption in any form as an option to create the loving family that makes more loving people! We all need to belong, to feel a part of some family, and my hat is off to those who step up to the plate and adopt!
Hi Brenda you and i are in the same page, i am over 48 but thanks to god i feel healthy, i have my owen business, but iam a widow, and i just wish someday i could adopt some child too. If you wish come true tell me all the step to do. i don't care the race. I live in Tn here is my email if you want to contact me chabelli_g@hotmail.com. Good luck to you!!!.
Someone always asks the question. This is a terrible tragedy going on in Haiti right now. It would seem as if the NEED to adopt Haitian orphans right now is GREATER. Some of the responses have eloquently answered the question, but I am somewhat offended that it has to be answered. Of course there are children in our country who deserve good homes. Their situations may not be as dire as that in Haiti right now. Good bless you all who have opened your hearts and homes to these precious children.
My heart goes out to all of the parents out there that are in the adoption process with kids from Haiti. I've started a Facebook group in hopes that with enough members and publicity, Haiti will hopefully give temporary Visas, or even let the kids in the adoption process live with their adoptive parents until the adoption is finalized.
http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=254069087022&view=all#/group.php?gid=254069087022
We have heard (from our orphanage) that President Preval has granted approval for the children to leave to the USA. It is the US which has not yet granted approval.
I understand why someone who has not experienced that heart "tug" toward international adoption would ask why international over domestic. I don't see it as a contest...if you are truly in that position of considering adoption, your heart tells you where to go. I really believe God puts it on your heart. As far as the question, is adoption a charity case? Baby, you really need to know what is involved as far as mountains of paperwork, applications, medical physicals, blood tests, translations, background checks, homestudies, document authorization by our gov't and foreign embassies, USCIS (immigration), pre-adoption casestudy updates, post-adoption updates (which go on for years), legalization in the US, citizenship papers, financing and waiting...waiting...WAITING! And then on top of all that, dealing with the adjustment issues that come with any adoption. Believe me, it is much easier to DONATE to charity. My husband and I have several biological children, as well as several internationally adopted children. They are all our children, they are not categorized or different to us in any way. We have completed one Haitian adoption and and currently in process with another. Our first one took nearly three years and we have been involved in this one for over two years now. We are really worried about the trickle down effects of this disaster on our process and others as well.
I understand why someone would ask why international adoption over domestic. If you've ever experienced that heart tug toward adoption, you know that God just puts it on your heart. Out of thousands of children in the world, you know which one is the right one for your family. But as far as adoption as a charity case? Baby, you need to know about the mountains of paper work, applications, medical physicals, blood tests, translations, homestudies, background checks, fingerprinting, document authorizations by our gov't and foreign embassies, USCIS (immigration), pre-adoption updates, post-adoption updates (going on for years), legal finalization, citizenship papers, financing, and waiting..waiting...WAITING! And then on top of that, the adjustment issues that come with any adoption. It is definately much easier to donate to charity.
My husband and I have both biological and internationally adopted children from several countries (and we don't categorize them..they're all equally our children). We have one daughter from Haiti and another in process. It took nearly three years to bring our first Haitian daughter home. We have been involved in this second process for over two years now. We are very concerned about what the outcome of this tragedy will be on our process and processes of others.
I obviously entered the same thoughts twice. My computer hit a glitch and I thought I had lost my post and tried to rewrite it. Needless to say, it was submitted the first time. Semtiment remains the same.
Are there any agencies that are/will be needing host families for orphaned children? I understand that the orphanages are seeking emergency visas for all orphans, regardless of adoptive status. My husband and I have just been adoptive home study approved and would welcome the opportunity to host children in need. We understand that the country is hesitant to permanetly place children in light of the possibility for child trafficking and the inability to establish parentage, but if the children will be starving and without food and water and there are groupd that can bring them to safety, even if it is temporary, we 'd love to know wabout how we might help.
I would like to have the opportunity to fine out how to host a child someday, i did before with two students from europe, but i prefer to have children. Le't me know how to start the process or who to contact to find out more imformation. Write me back on here.
I always wanted to adopt one or two children but I don't know were to start. After watching all these little orphans and read those stories about some hearth broking parents I am speechless and also hearth broking. I would say to everyone just follow your heart!
The site I clicked on said to post advice or share a story, and I have neither to offer. I just wanted to say that to all of you wonderful people out there who are in the process of adopting these beautiful children, my thoughts, heart and prayers go out to you and I will pray for the safe journey home of your children.