The number of orphaned children in Haiti was staggering before Tuesday’s catastrophe: 490,000 in a country of roughly 8 million people, according to orphanage Danita’s Children, located on the Haiti/Dominican Republic border.

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.

Since the earthquake and the plight of Haiti’s orphans have come to light, many families have expressed interest in adopting or fostering a Haitian child. Although the response from Americans who want to help has been immense, advocates encourage caution.

On its website, 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,” it states. “Every effort must be made in a timely fashion to locate living parents and extended family members.”

The National Council for Adoptions (NCFA) and other adoption advocates are very concerned about the potential for child trafficking in Haiti. As such, NCFA urges that there be no expedited efforts made to process new adoptions in Haiti at this time. Additionally, NCFA discourages the altruistic practice commonly referred to as “baby lifts.” Adequate time is needed to ensure that presumably orphaned children have no surviving family. Even in the name of humanitarian interest, we cannot risk the premature adoptions of vulnerable children who may have been separated from their families by this tragedy.

Many U.S. adoptions agencies have put their Haiti programs hold, including the Eugene, Ore.-based Holt International.

“Haiti has lost so much we need to be careful and responsible in regards to how we respond to their children,” said Whitney Reitz, branch chief, for the International Operations Division U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. “We can’t just go in and take them out of their country as if there is a better reality then protecting them there and attempting to get them reconnected to family in their own culture.”

It may be months or even years before the Haiti government is able to proceed with adoptions, and as the government emerges and rebuilds it could look different than before and its handling of adoptions could be different.

“In the old program even adoption cases with medical conditions did not to seem to be expedited,” said Rebecca Hackworth, Director of the Haitian Adoption Program at Dillon International. “The culture is so focused on survival. The compassion piece of enriching other lives is difficult to get to. Government officials are invested in getting their needs, and those of their families, met. There’s some apathy and inability to step outside their own needs.”

Adoption advocates believe that Haiti’s adoption program may actually benefit in the long run from reform the earthquake could bring.

“We hope this will bring a new day there and modernize and prioritize their children in a way that, when it’s appropriate, inter-country adoptions can be done in a better way,” said Susan Cox, vice president of Policy and External Affairs for Holt International.

Families looking to make a difference in a child’s life long-term through adoption are asked to look at the immediate needs of the children by helping those reputable organizations already on the ground in Haiti who can help now.

Organizations collecting funds for Haitian orphans:

• Dillon International Adoption Agency has a long standing adoption program in Haiti and is affiliated with an orphanage and hospital in Haiti.  The orphanage was damaged and the hospital is overflowing with people needing medical help.  Dillon is collecting funds for both the orphanage and the hospital.
• Holt International Adoption Agency has a long standing international adoption program in Haiti and helps run an orphanage and family preservation program there. The orphanage was undamaged.  They are collecting money to aid all Haitian and especially children.
• Carolina Adoption Services: Working with Maison des Anges in Tabarre which is home to 90 children, the majority under the age of 2 years. The children are unhurt, but the orphanage sustained some structural damage.
• Children’s House International: Working with Creche Enfante Jesus. Orhanage and children are fine but concern for food and water in the coming weeks.
• Tree of Life Adoption Center: Working with HIS Home for Children in Port-au-Prince and Foyer de Sara. Although the 100 children are safe, the orphanage was damaged and the children and staff are sleeping outside. Greatest concern is food and water.
• Bethany Christian Services: Working with God’s Littlest Angels orphanage and The Creche Enfants Jesus. Children are safe and orphanage was not damaged. They are able and willing to take in more children.
• Hand in Hand is a nonprofit adoption agency that has been processing international adoptions from Haiti for the past 20 years. They are collecting donations for two orphanages they work with in Haiti.
• Chances for Children provides the financial and strategic support for an adoption center named Crèche Enfant de l’Jèsus, currently housing about 70 children and located east of Port au Prince, Haiti. Also support numerous local project to improve the underlying conditions that result in the number of children coming into institutionalized care.
• BRESMA Orphange was badly damaged. They are trying to get all the children out of the country.
• New Hope Haiti Mission is a non-profit Christian ministry providing care to 29 children.  The orphanage was damaged and supplies were lost in the earthquake.
• God’s Littlest Angels is a non-profit Christian orphanage in Haiti.
• Heartline Ministries runs Maranatha Children’s Home as well as many other programs in  Haiti.
• Foyer de Sion orphanage is home to 225 children. Although all the children are safe, they are in need of money for supplies.
• The Shepherd’s Crook is a phenomenal ministry finding homes for kids with special needs.  They are involved in a project in northwest Haiti building a facility for special-needs orphans.  Although they’ve put this project on hold since the quake, they are collecting funds for general Haitian relief working with Northwest Haiti Christian Missions.
• Moving with the Spirit Mission Haiti is building an orphanage in Haiti.
• World Wide Village, Inc. is a Christian ministry providing education, health care, nutrition and micro enterprise opportunities to children and families in Haiti.
• Danita’s Children is a non-profit organization with the intent of rescuing and caring for orphaned children, meeting their needs spiritually, physically, academically, emotionally. Before the earthquake Danita’s Children has home to 75 orphans and providing a school, feeding program, church and recently broke ground on a pediatric hospital. The Ouanaminthe compound was not damaged in the earthquake and officials are headed to Port au Prince to offer assistance to the newly orphaned.
• Haitian Children’s Home is an organization located in Jacmel where children live in a family environment and the directors of each home fulfill the roles of parents and train the children to be leaders in the community. They have been on the ground serving food to thousands daily and coordinating supplies from the U.S. to Jacmel.

Source: www.creatingafamily.org

For information on adoption, visit our Adoption Resources page.