Adoption-Children from Haiti?

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Zenas

Zenas

Snow Miser
My wife had an idea that children from Haiti might be needing homes soon. Is anyone familiar with adoption agencies that we might be able to contact. In addition, might anyone be familiar with the adoption process in general? I have no idea how any of it works or what it costs.
 
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My wife has looked at this EXTENSIVELY over the past couple of days. It seems that adoptions for Haitian children are on hold for now until things are worked out there. I am sure that in a few months it will be a great need.

The price that Lydia found is disheartening though- $20,000-$30,000!

If you find anything else out, let me know. We are interested as well- it is the least that Christian homes can do!

---------- Post added at 12:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 AM ----------

Here is an article about Haitian adoption right now:

Haiti adoption advocates urge patience
 
A friend's husband just mentioned this on FB. His brother in law is helping adopted Haitian children to get back to the US. I have a question in to him, and will let you know what he says.
 
If he has the name of the agency he's working with or another that is able, we'd like to get in line for adoption.
 
I don't have any information, but I just wanted to commend you all who are reaching out in love to adopt. These children will blessed to have wonderful parents such as yourselves and I will be praying for you and the adoption process.
 
A couple in the church where my daughter attends in Tampa has been jumping through the hoops for two years now seeking to get finalization on two young Haitian boys. These boys survived the earthquake but now with the Haiti government in total disarray it was feared that the process would have to start all over. The father flew in this past Sunday (he was able to go in based on being a paramedic with experience in the country) having papers in hand from his US congressional representatives and as of Monday it was looking hopeful.
 
So, he got back to me, but didn't know what the name of the agency was. However, here is what he did say:

" They are going to the homes of their adoptive parents. Apparently the wait period is a 3-4 years but this is being rushed because of the earthquake. I have no idea about the wait on beginning the process right now. "

I'm sorry this doesn't seem to be of much help!
 
We found an agency but it appears the current restrictions would keep us from adopting a Haitian child. Minimum age of 35 is required with at least 10 years of marriage. I will be 25 this year and my wife will be 26 and we had our 1 year anniversary in December. Unless they lax the restrictions as a result of the earthquake, we won't be able to adopt a Haitian child, despite being financially able. (well, in the next 6 months we will be.)

I think domestic infant adoption might be our route, that or adoption from Hong Kong or Ethiopia. They have less restrictive requirements on age and length of marriage.
 
Adoption from Haiti is international and you are looking at roughly $20k-30k. Adoption is not a cheap route at least not in the US. One of our TE's has two children which were adopted domestically and now have a third as a result of foster-to-adopt. This will be their "cheapest" but also the one with the most trepidation. She is an older child at 5 years of age.

There is no quick way to adopt. I do not believe that because of the earthquake that things will move quicker. If anything, things will slow to a ridiculous pace.
 
Sad. We emailed them just to let them know we were interested. If it doesn't work out, such are things. It doesn't hurt to knock though. At at rate, it got us looking and renewed our original intentions to adopt at least one little one. Hopefully, we can adopt someone soon. There are plenty of children from all over who need families.
 
I think domestic infant adoption might be our route, that or adoption from Hong Kong or Ethiopia.
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Go Ethiopia - it is by far the easiest. Let us know if you have any questions (at least Elizabeth will be able to answer, she's our paperwork princess).

Remember, so far as adoption costs go:
$20,000-$30,000
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you can always take out a loan from the bank. It's a lot less than a car payment each month to finance a loan of that size.

We would also take a child or two (there's always room for one more) but Canada makes it very difficult to adopt, compared to the US. We thought we went through a lot with the US system, but when we compared it with the Canadian gov't requirements, we quieted down and were thankful. If you guys hear of a fast track way in the US system in the coming months, let us know. We'd be happy to go through that again, in this case! (I think we can still go through the US system while living here, not sure though.)
 
Just received word from a friend who has her "daughter" in the adoption pipeline. She's gone to visit her and was months away from having the child placed. Because of the earthquake they are looking to place all those kids in the US in order to facilitate their adoptions. Praise God!
 
Are you meaning they are looking to place all orphaned children in the US, or just those who were already in the "pipeline".
 
As I understand it, it is those who are already 'in the pipeline'. Every child's case has to pass court, and with the courts destroyed, that puts those children in limbo. I believe it is those children they are fast-tracking.

(Actually, my wife just said that it is for children that have already passed court).
 
you can always take out a loan from the bank. It's a lot less than a car payment each month to finance a loan of that size.
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I can't speak to Haiti or Ethiopia, but some countries require financial statements, and the loan would certainly impact your net worth. But I have known folks who did borrow for the adoption.

As for the monthly payments being lower than for a car, I suppose you could get there by going with a longer term home equity loan (if you can find a bank willing to do one) vs. a shorter term car loan.

Unsecured loan vs secured car loan for similar lengths of time for same principal amount, the car loan should be cheaper. And you can certainly get a nice car for a lot less than the cost of an international adoption.
 
Fair enough, but if you have any equity in your home to borrow against, $20K @ 4% is a cheap monthly payment. Ethiopia did require a financial statement; I believe all countries do to some extent, and CIS on the US side of things sure does as well.

A car depreciates massively as soon as you drive it off the lot. A child does not. Our agency told us that many people in their portfolio of clients had borrowed to adopt, and they still went through - I have not heard of a case where it has been a deal breaker.
 
I received the email below this afternoon from a friend of mine who has a Haitian daughter in the "pipeline". They have been trying to get her here for the last two years. Her sister is already here. Please pray for her and the other children who are due to be adopted.

Joint Council on International Children's Services's Notes
Haiti Call to Action
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Today at 3:23pmJanuary 19, 2010 3:15 p.m. est

UPDATE: Haiti

It as come that time that we request are dear friends and family help us ensure the safety of children in Haiti. Please read the message below and contact your Senators and Representative.

To find your senators go to, U.S. Senate
To find your representative go to, United States House of Representatives, 111th Congress, 2nd Session

Suggested Talking Points

Hello, my name is…<YOUR NAME>
My <STATE RELATIONSHIP TO ADOPTIVE FAMILY>…

OR

I am concerned about the orphan children of Hati...


I know that many Members of Congress continue to support efforts on behalf of Haiti’s orphaned children. I extend my thanks to the Congressman/Senator.

I am calling because…

* We need your help to get our adoptive child out of Haiti safely.
* Water, food and medicine are running out.
* Gangs have looted some of the orphanages and even travel is not safe for the children.
* The Department of Homeland security has granted humanitarian parole, but it is only the first step.
* The devastation from the earthquake is vast and our child’s safety - and even life - is at risk.

Joint Council on International Children’s Services, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and a team of congressional offices and relief organizations are working to coordinate a staging and housing center to provide:

* Physical safety
* Medicine
* Food
* Water
* A Staging Center for USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) to process humanitarian parole

The groups working to launch the staging and housing center already have most of what the children need.

But they do not have

* Water
* Security to protect the children and supplies from gangs
* Transportation to bring the children into this safe haven
We are asking that (name of Member of Congress) personally call:

* Secretary of State Clinton, and
* Dr. Shah, Administrator Designate at USAID

And specifically request that they authorize security forces be sent to the offered staging center and assist in the extraction and transport of these children from their orphanages to the staging center. All other pieces of a successful operation of this staging center are currently in place, but all hinge on this authorization of security and transport.


If this security does not reach the site within 24 hours, children being adopted and many other children will continue to suffer and may in fact not live long enough to be united with my family and the other 300 U.S. families.
Click to expand...
 
One other thing Elizabeth and I were discussing is the fact that those children not matched up or officially 'in the system' yet will likely be put on a full hold for some time. Until US agencies can be assured that they are not putting up for adoption a child with a living (but currently missing) parent, they likely won't touch it at all (too many liabilities).
 
Show Hope | Adoption Aid Frequently Asked Questions

I talked to somebody recently at a wedding reception who is associated with this agency. He said they get maybe 150 requests a month and can afford grants to about 40. You have to do a homestudy first with your own money. Its worth a try.

And as the Mom of a Romanian girl I can say that you'll never regret adopting, no matter how busy and broke you end up :)

By the way, check out the policy at your company. Back when we did it hub's corporation paid a significant percentage of fees for adoption and infertility treatments. For us it was 11 grand and we refinanced for the rest. A lot of big corporations now will help pay for adoptions, as much as 80% of agency fees.
 
i know people that are adopting from Haiti. It is a multi-year & expensive process.

Also, you should know that many Haitian adoptees are NOT orphans! The are given by their parents to gat a 'better" life in Canada.
 
A few points about the cost...there is an adoption tax credit that is now around $12,000, so that brings the net cost down from around $20K-$25K to $8K-$13K. And, pre-earthquake it was a 2-4 year process. So that gives it a net cost of $2K-$6.5K per year when it is all finished. Further, during that time you would have zero expenses for the child (since you wouldn't have him yet), so you could put aside the amount of money every month that you would be spending on the child to care for him when you get him.

I wouldn't go into debt for adoption or any other reason, because over the last few years I've turned away from that, but others have differing opinions about borrowing. Instead, if I couldn't afford that much that fast, I might save for an additional year before starting the process. In my opinion though, if I can't figure out a way to save a few thousand a year for an adoption then how can I presume to believe that I can afford to care for the child when I get him? I could take an extra job delivering pizza several hours a week and save that much. People drop $8K-$13K and more on cars all the time without hesitation...even middle to lower-middle income people. And the same could be said about the prices people are willing to pay for a house or apartment. A child is worth more than any car or house that exists. I'd downsize and save for the adoption.

That being said, if I were already near the bottom economically with nothing left to downsize, not enough income to save that much, and no way to get a part time job to help, then I probably shouldn't even be considering any method of adoption outside the foster system. In that situation adopting from the foster system is the only realistic alternative. It costs nothing, and in many states they even pay you a stipend to do it. Further, under almost no circumstance would I consider asking for donations to adopt. Whenever I see people doing "fundraisers" for their adoption it REALLY bugs me, except in very rare, special situations involving certain special needs, sudden adoptions due to some emergency situation, or the like. I just can't imagine doing it. You don't typically see people having fundraisers to cover their expenses related to giving birth, which can cost multiple thousands of dollars and happens in much less than a year from beginning to end. So why should an adoption, which I have much longer to prepare for, be any different? It is my responsibility to provide for my family...it is not my parent's, friend's, or some stranger on the Internet's responsibility. To say, "I want to adopt...and you should donate money for me to do it" seems really weird to me. I've seen it in the international adoption community a LOT.

All that aside though, no one knows what's going to happen with Haiti now. It looks like the 800-900 kids that were already in the system and matched to parents in the U.S. will get to come quickly. But what about the other 380,000 orphans? Only God knows. It could take a very long time to sort it out since Haiti's government barely exists now...it was a mess even before the quake. My prayer is that as a result of this tragedy a better government and more reasonable adoption policy will emerge.
 
Whenever I see people doing "fundraisers" for their adoption it REALLY bugs me, except in very rare, special situations involving certain special needs, sudden adoptions due to some emergency situation, or the like. I just can't imagine doing it. You don't typically see people having fundraisers to cover their expenses related to giving birth, which can cost multiple thousands of dollars and happens in much less than a year from beginning to end. So why should an adoption, which I have much longer to prepare for, be any different? It is my responsibility to provide for my family...it is not my parent's, friend's, or some stranger on the Internet's responsibility. To say, "I want to adopt...and you should donate money for me to do it" seems really weird to me. I've seen it in the international adoption community a LOT.
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We never did the fundraiser thing - we did, however, apply for grants from foundations (and got one in a big way). However, I don't have a problem with the fundraisers and will give to them gladly. I see it as giving to missions (yes, I am biased, but I don't see it any differently than giving money to a missionary - in the end, you are doing much the same work). It is definitely not a SHOULD do, but if you believe in adoption the way some do, though are not called to it yourself, it is a way of finding these children homes without actually taking one in yourself. That very sort of people is the kind that fund the grants available for this sort of thing. I knew a lot of people in China who had the money to feed and clothe another 2 or 3 children, keep them out of a warehouse-type orphanage (or worse) and give them a loving home, but didn't have the money to adopt them. The community helped out, and it worked in a lot of cases.

I actually don't see any comparison to raising money for your own birth - that leaves out the mission aspect entirely (though in the end, these children are family members, NOT missions projects). This is an act of compassion, not procreation.

All that aside though, no one knows what's going to happen with Haiti now. It looks like the 800-900 kids that were already in the system and matched to parents in the U.S. will get to come quickly. But what about the other 380,000 orphans? Only God knows. It could take a very long time to sort it out since Haiti's government barely exists now...it was a mess even before the quake. My prayer is that as a result of this tragedy a better government and more reasonable adoption policy will emerge.
Click to expand...

I think that figure of 380,000 orphans is about to grow significantly.
 
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