MLJ Adoptions is thrilled to announce we are one of eighteen agencies reapproved to serve Haitian children in need of international adoption. Haiti became a Hague Convention Country in April 2014 and they are currently working towards implementing their new Hague compliant policies and procedures. The central authority in Haiti, Institut du Bien Etre Social et de Recherches, known as “IBESR,” is continuing to work towards more efficient processing in matching families to children in need. Haiti and the U.S. State Department have been extremely invested in the transition and creation of a stable and ethical Hague Adoption process in Haiti.
We have been in contact with many prospective adoptive families seeking to adopt from Haiti since our initial approval. Parents often, though not always, are interested in adopting from Haiti because they have personal ties to the country, often they have participated in missions to Haiti. Many Christian churches and mission organizations have groups that travel to Haiti to provide care and complete projects for families, churches or orphanages. On these short term trips or even long term trips families have the opportunity to see with their own eyes the tremendous need in Haiti. Indeed, the poverty existing in Haiti is ever-present. Viewing this great need firsthand may spark interest in adopting from Haiti. With additional research on adopting from Haiti, families may find additional reasons to adopt from Haiti, including the following three reasons to adopt from Haiti.
- Improved Haitian Adoption Procedures (Haiti became a Hague Convention country in April 2014):
The laws and regulations touching international adoption are constantly changing. It sometimes seems that additional legal requirements are added to the adoption process without due consideration for the desired outcome of furthering the best interests of children. There has been much frustration over the past year while Haiti has been developing a Hague compliant process and not concurrently processing many adoptions. However, we believe that Haiti’s new processes will ultimately better serve children and families.The Haitian central authority (IBESR), with consultation from the U.S. government and other foreign governments, has thoughtfully and strategically developed a Hague compliant adoption process with meaningful safeguards in place. These procedures are in place in an effort to ensure that adoptions are occurring ethically and in the best interests of children. The new laws focus on the needs of the children and specifically the “subsidiary principle,” which requires that Haiti first make efforts for family preservation and reunification prior to matching a child to an international family for adoption.The Haitian government’s efforts are intended to best meet the needs of Haitian children by prioritizing in-country/domestic placement with a loving family who can meet the child’s needs. As a Hague Convention Country, Haiti takes seriously the efforts made to reunify a displaced child with their biological family or assist struggling birth parents with alternative solutions to poverty. Domestic placement, when possible, should always take priority. However, not all foreign governmental entities have the resources to make this possible. In addition, not all countries have a population that is open to accepting adopted children into their families or are financially fit enough to support additional children. This is one of the benefits of a Hague Convention Country, knowing that the country’s child welfare system must prioritize reunification or domestic adoption in light of the best interests of the child. Not only is this best for the child, but it creates stability in the adoption process, making it less likely that biological family members will appear later requesting to parent, which can cause a family to lose the match with a referred child.
- Proximity to Haiti:
The proximity of Haiti to the United States allows for easier travel during the process and thereafter. Proximity to the child’s country of origin is often a factor overlooked or of lesser importance when families are determining which program is the best fit. However, proximity to the country may have a big impact on the cost of travel and also on your (and your child’s) ability to travel to the country later in an effort to preserve your child‘s culture. Parents adopting from Haiti will likely have more opportunities to travel to Haiti for mission trips or cultural trips. There are also more ways to get connected to the Haiti culture in the United States because we have such a large Haitian and Haitian American population. - Community of Families Adopting from Haiti:
Haiti has a significant history of international adoption to the United States. According to the U.S. Department of State, U.S. families have adopted 3,282 Haitian children between 1999 – 2013. Building a community can be vital when adopting internationally, not only for the adoptive parents, but for the Haitian children when they come home. This is a time of change in adoptions from Haiti and change that is making adoptions more Hague compliant and transparent.
MLJ Adoptions is accepting applications for families interested in adopting from Haiti and have openings in our program. We are encouraged by IBESR, as Haiti continues to work towards implementing their Hague compliant procedures. We are excited about the progress that has been made so far and look forward to seeing what 2015 brings.
Photo Credit: The Global Orphan Project
MLJ Adoptions
MLJ Adoptions is a Non-Profit, Hague-Accredited adoption service provider located in Indianapolis, Indiana, working in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Isles. We are passionate about serving children in need.
MLJ Adoptions
MLJ Adoptions is a Non-Profit, Hague-Accredited adoption service provider located in Indianapolis, Indiana, working in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Isles. We are passionate about serving children in need.