Haitian Adoptions

Haiti adoptions are back up and running. Exactly what this means, I'm not sure. I would like to believe that with most of the pending adoptions essentially cleared out of the Haitian system due to the children being allowed to go to their adoptive famlies, post earthquake, that the old system of adoptions will be dramatically different, specifically faster and more efficient. I am guessing though that this will not be the case. Regardless, I think it's pretty hard to predict what Haitian adoptions will look like. Previously, that has been the one consistent thing in Haitian adoptions: that the process will be unpredictable. That said, despite the unknowns, the earthquake has focused attention on Haiti and adoptions like no other moment in time ever has. There are thousands of children waiting for families, many from the same orphanage Conleigh is from. Should everyone who had an initial reaction of wanting to adopt do so? No but I would encourage people to continue to do their homework and continue to seek what God would have for their families. Here are the basics of Haitian adoptions, based on my experiences.

Basic adoption info
Haiti is a bit unique in that they still allow independent adoptions. This means that you can choose to use an agency from the US to work on your adoption or you can work directly with an orphanage/Haitian attorney. Either way, you will be required to create a dossier and to file immigration paperwork. The dossier is a huge pile of official paperwork like your birth certificate, letters of recommendation, letters regarding your state of health, your homestudy, etc.. This dossier is submitted to the Haitian government and combined with paperwork on your child. This paperwork then moves through the process, from office to office, with new papers being added at each step saying that you have the approval of each office. The immigration paperwork is what you file with the US government in order to legally bring your child home once the adoption is completed in Haiti. The agency route means spending more money but allows for a bit more surety as you generally can change to another country if for some reason, you were unable to adopt from Haiti. The agency may or may not help you assemble your paperwork. If you choose to work directly with an orphanage/attorney in Haiti, then your fees will be less and you will have to assemble all of your paperwork on your own. But there is a greater risk as there is often not an "out" if something goes awry with your paperwork. Both of our adoptions were done as indpendent adoptions where we worked directly with an orphanage.

The Haitian adoption requirements are also a bit fuzzy. Haiti's only adoption law is from 1974 and in desperate need of updating. What has happened in the past it that families who wanted to adopt but did not meet the requirements from 1974 (married ten years, aged 35+, no bio children) were sent to the President for approval. I do not know if this will continue to happen.

The JCICS just put out a good flyer that addresses Haitian adoption post earthquake.

Children who are available
There are all ages of children available. From infants to teens. These kids are in this situation for a variety of reason. Many have at least one living parent; some have two but one is not involved in the child's life. In these cases, the parent who is the legal guardian has decided that he or she cannot parent the child due to things like inability to feed the child, medical concerns of the child or the parent, remarriage where the child is not wanted by the new spouse, etc.. Some children have no living parents and have been brought into orphange care by relatives. Some have no living parents and have no living family to speak for them or have been abandoned by their parents and the parents are unknown. This last group of children can take significantly more time to process as they must be proven to be orphans and with no living relative to speak for them, a guardian of sorts must be appointed and then an investigation must occur proving that the child is eligible for adoption.


It is also important to know that children who are available are not perfect. They have all had trauma in their short lives. Some have been physically or sexually abused by family members. Some have been physically or sexually abused while in orphanage care. Some have spent years in orphanage care. All have had to grieve the loss of a parent, either through death or through the process of entering into orphanage care. Adoptive parents may or may not know about these challenges prior to adopting. As with any adoption, there is no guarantee that a child will come to an adoptive family without significant emotional problems. It is important that adoptive parents have a good understanding of what to expect (worst care scenerio) with an adopted child. Parents need to research how attachment happens, Reactive Attachment Disorder and developmental delays. They need to understand that about 1/3 of kids who are adopted do great, 1/3 show some signs of attachment problems, and 1/3 have real problems with attachment. It doesn't mean that your child will have problems but you should be prepared for the possibility. I would say that I have one kiddo who had zero problems with attachment and is well adjusted and well attached. I have another who has a few issues and is semi attached to us. We have not seen the wild crazy end of the spectrum. But attachment is not a destination; it's a journey and my kids will all have moments of attachment issues as they go through the different stages of life.


There are also kids who may have medical problems that should be disclosed at the time you accept your referral. Things like sickle cell, HIV, Hepititis are tested for. Kids who have noticeable physical problems like deafness, blindness, Down's Syndrome, etc. also should have this noted before they are referred to a parent. That does not mean that all phyiscal problems will be noted. There is always a possibility that a health concern will not be revealed until the child is home. This could be because of intentional omission or simply because healthcare in Haiti is not great and the orphanage honestly didn't know there was a problem. I personally don't know of anyone who has dealt with this happening intentionally but in theory, it's possible.

Time line
This is the most unpredictable part of the process. There is a process in place. The first step is 1st legal which takes a very short amount of time. The second step is IBESR where the Haitian government approves you as an adoptive parent and where they create a social history on the child. This step has been very inconsistent and has taken from 3 months to over a year. With Kenson, we were in this step 3 months. With Conleigh, we were in this step for 15 months and had not been released at the time of the earthquake. The next step, Parquet, is also inconstent. Time frames have depended upon where your paperwork must be processed. Paperwork that has to be processed in Port Au Prince usually takes much longer than that that can be processed elsewhere. It can take a few months outside of Port but 6-9 months in Port. Your child is legally adopted in this step and receives your last name. Once your file is out of Parquet, it must go to 2nd legal which usually takes a few months. The it's on to passports. Your child will be issued a Haitian passport. This can take 1-2 months. It took us 8 weeks for Kenson's to be printed. What is a bit confusing is that at the same time, the US government will be doing it's own investigation to determine if you are a qualified parent/if your child is eligible to be adopted. The immigration paperwork you fill out sets all of this in motion. You first fill out an I600A which is basically telling the US government that you intend to adopt a child from Haiti. After this, you must file an I600 which you will do at the end of the Haitian process. This form is to set up the orphan investigation where the US government in Haiti will interview the birth parent to ensure that he or she understands that they are placing their child for adoption. Once your this interview is done and you have a passport and medical exams done, a final visa interview will be conducted and a visa will be printed. This takes 1-2 months to finish up the US end of things. After that, your child can come home. Kenson's adoption took 24 months from the time our paperwork arrive in Haiti. Conleigh's paperwork had been in Haiti for 18 months and we were still on step 2. It is an up and down experience; we have been involved with Haitian adoptions for 3 1/2 years and have seen the process change at least 3 times. It's important to know that the process is pretty fluid and that things can change quickly.

Fees
We spent probably $10, 000-$12, 000 on each adoption (not counting travel expenses). I'm estimating here as I haven't really added everything up. But the big expenses were the fees we paid to our attorney/orphanage (currently about $8, 000), the home study fee we had to pay to a social worker ($1500) $250 or so that we used to assemble and translate our dossier, and $600 or so for immigration paperwork. Again, remember that this is for an independent adoption. Fees for an adoption through an agency are higher.


Okay with all that said, I would also encourage families who are interested to really think about their motivation for adopting. God can certainly use the earthquake to stir one's heart towards Haiti and her ophan crisis. But it is important to understand what you may be getting into. As with any adoption, a surface love that's full of warm fuzzies and reciprical emotions is not enought. Adoptive parenting can take a very deep, almost sprititual love where you truly live out 1 Corinthians 13 to the max. Not taking offense at a child who treats you with piles of disrespect. Not quitting on a child who often feels hopeless. Not getting angry over a child's behavior. Not seeking the love of self and taking a child's behaviors personally. All parenting requires a good grip on love but adoptive parenting has some unique challenges.



I'm happy to recommend some good agencies/orphanages if you're interested in Haitian adoption. I'm also happy to recommend some good websites and books which can help you get started researching adoption as well as resources for financial help. So if that's what you're looking for, just ask.