Message from AdoptUsKids on Adopting Haitian Orphans

We have received a number of inquiries from families interested in adopting Haitian children affected by the earthquake. At this time, the first priority of government and disaster recovery officials is to address people’s immediate medical and physical needs and assist in the reunion of family members who have been displaced or separated.

 

We understand that Americans, moved by images of children in need, want to open their homes and adopt children who had not been identified for adoption before the earthquake. The State Department advises against this course of action at this time.

 

Intercountry adoption involves strict safeguards and legal requirements that must be met to protect children from illegal adoptions, abduction, sale, and child-trafficking as well as to ensure that any adoption is in the best interests of the child. Therefore, it may take a long time before children who were orphaned by the disaster to become available for adoption. For more information about this process, please read a statement on intercountry adoption cases related the earthquake in Haiti (76.3 KB PDF) from the International Social Service General Secratiat’s International Reference Centre (ISS/IRC).

 

If you are interested in adoption, there are 463,000 children in foster care in the U.S. with approximately 123,000 available for adoption. We can answer any questions you have about adopting these children. Learn more about how to adopt from foster care and meet the children.

 

If you want to know more about the children affected by the earthquake in Haiti, please use the intercountry adoption resources provided by the State Department. You can also visit Child Welfare Information Gateway for a searchable list of U.S. adoption agencies that place children from abroad.

If you were in the process of adopting a child from Haiti at the time of the earthquake and have questions, the State Department is advising you to read their newly revised intercountry adoption guidelines for Haiti.

For general information about recovery efforts taking place in Haiti, please refer to the State Department’s official 2010 earthquake in Haiti page.