Proposed Haitian Adoption Law Revision = BAD IDEA

I want to give my five cents to this "new" = old 2006 written and proposed adoption law in Haiti... I personally think that the law is NOT a good idea. The law was written ("co-authored") by UNICEF and we all know that UNICEF is very anti-adoption and would prefer children to live in Haiti (in orphanages because there are few in-country adoptive homes) versus being adopted internationally. Thus, the law is geared to slowing the process down even more and to make the adoption process more difficult than it already is. HOLT writes that the current adoption process is taking up to four years. That is a ridiculous time line and most adoptions currently do NOT take four years. Counting from the time that the dossier reaches Haiti up to the point that the child's file comes out of MOI and a passport is issued, should take 12-18 months. The time prior to the dossier reaching Haiti and the time it takes the respective receiving country (i.e. the U.S. Consulate) to issue immigration permission cannot be counted against the Haiti adoption timeline because it has nothing to do with the Haitian side of the adoption process. The law proposes to "fix" the no-bio kids stipulation that is causing many families difficulties, BUT it also proposes a new referral process that will slow down referrals and will open up the process to possible bribes and corruption. Currently, a licensed for adoption orphanage can receive adoption dossiers and is able to make adoption referrals to the prospective adoptive families. This process is smooth and does not take much time. However, with the proposed 2007 law, all dossiers have to be received by IBESR directly and then it is somebody in IBESR that will make a child adoption proposal referral of a child that is on its list living in one of the licensed orphanages. Currently, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica has a very similar dossier receiving and child referral process. Adoptions in the countries with such a referral system are extremely slow because it takes forever to receive an adoption referral. Plus, the prospective family does not get as much information about the proposed child as they would with an orphanage referral. Additionally, my concern is that Haiti, like many non-developed country bureaucracies, offices work really slow and it will be an office worker who decides what child from which particular orphanage will be adopted. (I mean no disrespect to anybody working in IBESR because they are short staffed and underpaid as is.) My fear is that only orphanages that are "in good graces" with the particular referring office will get its children referred for adoption. As a result, in my opinion, that leaves things open for corruption, bribes, etc. (Again, I mean no disrespect to anybody working in IBESR, but this is a possibility.) Many orphanages in Haiti can financially survive and take care of children because they handle adoptions. With the proposed new (old) law, many orphanages would go under financially and would stop functioning, allowing only big organizationally backed orphanages to survive. Since IBESR, the Haitian government and UNICEF do NOT provide funding for orphanages in Haiti, unless they want to start funding these orphanages, this is a really BAD idea and will ultimately leave hundreds if not thousands of kids homeless and starving to death. I am really surprised that HOLT and Joint Council would put their push and backing into this law and would want prospective and adoptive families to put their weight behind it. It makes little sense to me and I hope that people will really look at this proposed law and it severe negative consequences. Two years ago when this law was first proposed, lots of people who run orphanages, who work in adoptions expressed their concerns about this law to the Haitian parliament and that is why it was not passed at that time.

Important Legislation Proposal - TAKE ACTION!

Please take a moment to read this and sign the petition. Please ask your spouses and friends to do the same.

"The intercountry adoption process is a long, tedious process for American citizens seeking to adopt a foreign born child. Paperwork includes home studies, finger printing and criminal checks. The process can take up to three years to complete.

At the completion of the adoption, the child must be approved for a U.S. immigrant visa in order to enter the U.S. and gain citizenship. The immigrant visa is required despite the fact that the "immigrant" is the child of a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. is one of the few developed countries in the world that requires internationally adopted children of citizens to immigrate in order to join their new families.Most countries recognize internationally adopted children as citizens upon the finalization of their adoption. The Foreign Adopted Children Equality Act (FACE Act) would recognize that internationally adopted children deserve to be treated as children of American citizens and accorded the same citizenship process as children born aboard to American citizens.

Under the FACE Act, Adoptive parents would apply for a U.S. passport and Consular Report of Birth instead of a visa. These documents provide adoptive parents with immediate proof of citizenship for their adopted child and provide immediate proof of U.S. citizenship. "

- McLane Layton Equality for Adopted Children (EACH)

Please follow the link to sign the petition.
( http://www.gopetiti on.com/petitions /face-act- of-2009.html )

To learn more about Equality for Adopted Children (E.A.C.H),
visit http://www.equality foradoptedchildr en.org/

Thanks!

Comment Sections & Email Responses

I have had several of my blog's readers ask me questions in the comment section. Unfortunately, when you do that, there is no email address to respond back to you.

If you have a question that you want me to answer, please email me directly (achildsvoice@live.com) because if you post on the comment section, I cannot reply to you.

Thanks :)

Press Release from Harvard Law School's Child Advocacy Program (CAP)

Harvard Law School's Child Advocacy Program (CAP) and the Center for Adoption Policy win key backers for International Adoption Policy Statement

Support for International Adoption principles is growing, says HLS Professor Elizabeth Bartholet, citing endorsements for Policy Statement and the recent Malawi ruling in the Madonna case

Harvard Law School's Child Advocacy Program (CAP) and the Center for Adoption Policy have won key endorsements promoting International Adoption to help meet the needs of homeless children worldwide.

Working with some of the nation's leading child and human rights experts, CAP recently led a campaign to disseminate their International Adoption Policy Statement, and has now won backing from more than 130 legal scholars in the fields of human rights, child rights, civil rights, and family law, and from six children's rights and adoption policy organizations.

CAP helped develop the Policy Statement to address the crisis in international adoption, as UNICEF and other organizations have increased the pressure to shut down adoption in favor of keeping children in their countries of origin at all costs. The Policy Statement takes the position that International Adoption should be part of a comprehensive strategy to address the needs of unparented children, and that it generally serves children's needs far better than available in-country options like orphanages and foster care.

HLS Professor Elizabeth Bartholet '65 said that "these endorsements demonstrate that organizations like UNICEF and Save the Children should not be seen as having a lock on the child human rights position. Many of the nation's leading experts on child and human rights have joined in this campaign to endorse the principle that children's most basic rights are to grow up in the true family that is often available only in International Adoption."

Bartholet announced the Policy Statement endorsements in the same week the Supreme Court of Appeal in the Republic of Malawi released a decision granting Madonna's application to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James. "The Malawi court's ruling is consistent with the core principles in our Policy Statement," said Bartholet. "I applaud the court for making the child's best interests primary, and approving the adoption so that Mercy can be released from the orphanage to grow up in a family."

The Malawi court found adoption required under basic human rights principles contained in Malawi law and applicable international treaties including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Its key conclusions were: (1) the best interests of the child must be determinative in decisions related to adoption; (2) children's most fundamental interests lie in being raised in a true family; and (3) technical "residence" requirements for adoption must be read in light of the new international order characterized by "globalization and the global village."

Bartholet said that the ruling in the Madonna case is consistent with other recent court rulings in South Africa and India. "It is all evidence of a growing understanding that basic human rights principles point to making use of International Adoption as a source of homes for children in need," said Bartholet.

List of Organizations & Individual Endorsers:
http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/cap/ia/IAendorsements.php

Ministère d'Intérieur - Ministry of Interior

Regular office hours are commencing this Thursday, June 18th and Friday, June 19th.

I have no update on IBESR and Madam Pierre (Director).

IBESR & MOI Update

I was told today that the main IBESR director, Madam Pierre is not on a trip to France, thus she won't be signing any adoption dossiers...sorry...

The city seemed more quiet today. I was told that there were demonstrations, but I did not see any. However, I saw a lot of police in riot gear, but not much else.

I had an interesting conversation with one of the "bum guys" that hang out in front of the Ministry of Interior. He insisted that former President Clinton is going to be the new governor of Haiti and they are going to get rid of President Preval.

Aside from the bums on the street having this as the topic of their political musings, members of the Haitian legislature might be asking for President Preval to step down. People are tired of there not being any progress.

Ministry of Interior was closed yesterday for the holiday, and today, the director was not there. That is two weeks of not being able to do any MOI work (remember, last week it was the funeral that everybody attended), understandibly so...

Haitian Holiday - today

Today is a Haitian Holiday for which many people do not seem to remember the name. Some people call it "God's Day" but like I said, most people do not remember the name and as to why there is a holiday today.

I was told by a friend that even the U.S. Embassy is closed today for this holiday, since the embassy observes all U.S. and Haitian holidays. However, it was not listed as a closing holiday on the 2009 holiday list of closures.

Some kids that I spoke with yesterday told me that they had school today. Workers in town said that they were working today, but others confirmed this holiday. Hmmm...

So, I guess that Ministry of Interior will be closed too? And the thing is, if there is a holiday on a Thursday, don't expect anybody to work on Friday since the holiday would be convenient to taking a four-day weekend. MOI only has office hours on Thursday and Friday. Last week, they were not receiving anybody because of the director's sister's death. This week, they will probably not be receiving anybody because today is the "mystery holiday" and tomorrow might be a "all staff is out for the weekend" holiday. We shall see...

Yesterday, the demonstrators were still protesting around the park area of the palace in downtown. I think that we have gotten used to this now. Life goes on as normal around the surrounding streets as long as the protesters don't decided to take a "walk" up to the next street. I wonder if the protestors will be observing "God's Day" today? Maybe they will take the weekend off and make it a four-day weekend?