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Save the Date:
February 8, 2010. CCAA Sends Out NSN Referrals. The China Center for Adoption Affairs sent referrals for its non-special needs international adoption program last week to families whose dossiers had been logged in with CCAA on April 4 and April 5, 2006. Notwithstanding that only two calendar days of referrals were sent, this batch appears to have been larger than the batches for the previous few months. The children, both boys and girls, were from various provinces and tended to the younger side of referral ages-averaging around seven to nine months. As we have been accustomed to noting, each month that passes has added significant time to the wait for PAPs; anyone who received a referral this month clearly had begun working on their adoption dossier over four years ago.
February 4, 2010. U.S. Missionaries Charged by Haitian Government with Abduction. The ten U.S. missionaries who were accused of trying to take 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic this past week without proper papers and without following proper procedures now have been charged with abduction. If convicted, these Idaho residents, face prison terms of up to fifteen years. Up until today, the possibility of returning the U.S. residents, and avoiding a trial in this high profile case, existed but for now that possibility is foreclosed. It would probably not be possible to bring charges against this group in the United States since, according to current reports, apparently no crime was committed here. More Information.
February 3, 2010. Orphans Are Not Necessarily Orphans. The justifiable furor over the attempt by ten Americans from Idaho to remove children from Haiti in total disregard of procedures or paperwork has brought to the forefront a continuing misunderstanding that bedevils discussions about finding permanent homes for unparented children. Reporters and commentators have reiterated over the past few days that some of the 33 children taken to the Dominican Republic border by the Idaho group were not orphans - that they had living parents. This revelation is often made to sound newsworthy in and of itself and has become a conversation ender. In reality the overwhelming majority of adopted children have living birth parents. "Orphan" is a legal and statutory term which describes a child who has been abandoned or relinquished by his or her birth parents. A finding that a child is an "orphan" is necessary before a child can be adopted from non-Hague countries to the United States pursuant to CIS orphan regulations. (The idea is the same but terminology is different under Hague adoptions.) Birth parents must have their parental rights terminated before any child can be adopted domestically. It is not remarkable that the Haitian children at the center of the Idaho case were not orphans in the common understanding of the word - children whose birth parents are dead. What is significant rather is the cavalier and irresponsible attitude shown by the Idaho emissaries for the legal and governmental structures that exist to protect children.
February 2, 2010. The Adoption of Haitian Children. We participated in an online discussion of international adoption and the future of Haiti's unparented children. Much of the media's focus on Haiti in recent days has swirled around the dreadfully misguided attempt by a group from Idaho to take Haitian children to the Dominican Republic without following any of the necessary protocols and procedures. We regret the emphasis on this particular story because it distracts attention from the need for unparented children to have permanent, loving homes through ethical and transparent international adoption, among other options. To read and contribute to the debate, please go to http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/haitis-children-and-the-adoption-question/.
February 1, 2010. New Policy Finds Relatives of Foster Children. St. Louis officials are taking family reunification strategies for foster children one step further. Investigators are seeking leads for relatives of children in care who may not even be aware of their new kin. The goal is to find family for foster children who otherwise might age out of care and be left adrift and alone. "The lost relatives are a largely untapped resource for adoption," said Melanie Scheetz, director of the nonprofit Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition.The best result comes when relatives decide to adopt the children. But even if they don't, officials are convinced that creating any relationship with a family member can be of great benefit to foster children. More Information.
January 28, 2010. Heroines and Heroes. The arrival of Haitian orphans who were in the process of being adopted by U.S. families has been well chronicled by various media outlets. Less well known is the role played by Citizenship and Immigration Services' officials in the homecoming of these children. The efforts of CIS staff members have truly exceeded what anyone could possibly expect. In particular we would like to mention two people. The first is Whitney Reitz who is heading up CIS' Washington D.C. team effort on behalf of Haitian children eligible to come to the U.S. This is not Ms. Reitz's first effort on behalf of potential adoptive parents; last summer Ms. Reitz played an important role in the resolution of the TB testing issue which particularly affected adoptions from China and Ethiopia. From the time the earthquake hit, Ms. Reitz has worked ceaselessly, with speed, skill and kindness, to help Haitian PAPs in this very difficult time. Her generosity of effort and spirit have played an incalculable role in the reuniting of Haitian orphans with their adoptive parents. Without the round the clock work of Pius Bannis, the permanent CIS official in Haiti, the orphans eligible for humanitarian parole would not have received the documents necessary to travel home. We all owe Ms. Reitz and Mr. Bannis, and their colleagues, a great deal.
January 26, 2010. Beware of Adoption Scams and Non-existent Programs. The Haitian earthquake crisis reminds us that while tragedies bring out the best in the people, they also encourage conmen and crooks who eagerly attempt to take advantage of desperate people and dire situations. The Haitian earthquake aftermath is no different. We have received reports of families being recruited for new Haitian adoption programs. There are no new Haitian adoption programs. We have learned about people calling in-process U.S. families and telling the families that for a fee the families can get their U.S. embassy paper work expedited. There are no such legitimate programs. We are aware of people pretending to be parents with previously referred Haitian children. We urge everyone involved in the adoption field to beware of schemes and false promises. We are happy for anyone with questions about a particular person or entity to contact us at our website.
January 25, 2010. Haitian Government Requires New Exit Documents for Haitian Orphans. We have learned that the government of Haiti has announced that its officials must approve the departure of any child from Haiti. This new Haitian exit document requirement will affect orphan children who qualify for visas or humanitarian parole from the U.S. government. We further understand that the U.S. government is discussing with the Haitian government today the manner in which the Haitian government exit document requirement will be implemented. Today, the U.S. embassy in Port au Prince is not distributing any travel documents for Haitian orphans although embassy staff are continuing to work on related files. We respect the concern showed by the Haitian government for its children and deplore wholeheartedly any illegal or unwarranted movement of Haitian children. We are working to make sure, however, that Haitian children who were approved for adoption to U.S. vetted parents prior to the earthquake will be able to continue to come to the United States in an expeditious manner.
Updates on Haiti can be found on the Center for Adoption Policy's Facebook Webpage and also at: http://centerforadoptionpolicy.blogspot.com/.
Center for Adoption Policy (CAP)
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