U.S. Parents in Limbo After Haiti Earthquake Delays Adoptions

For parents trying to adopt children from Haiti, Tuesday's deadly earthquake has created anxiety, foremost about the health of the children, but also about the status of adoptions already underway, says Heather Breems, international supervisor and Haiti program coordinator for Adoption-Link tells Parentdish.com. The good news is all the children and staff from the two orphanages connected to the Oak Park, IL-based program are safe.

"I talked to them last night on Skype," Breems says. "They have food and supplies that should last them until Wednesday." But there are just not a lot of ways to get help into Haiti right now and Adoption-Link is working the phones to help gather aid for the children and staff, while adoptive families are trying to speed the adoptions along, according to Breems.

"We have a mom trying to bring her daughter home. She was supposed to go this weekend to get her after a long, difficult process," Breems explains. The child is HIV positive and the U.S.-based mother is very anxious to bring her home, but the earthquake has postponed that trip. Other families are not as far into the process, but already know their child, Breems says.

Unlike other countries, parents are matched with a Haitian child very early in the adoption process, Breems says. It's not uncommon for parents to see pictures of their prospective child and visit with them several times before the process is complete. Some of Adoption-Link families are waiting for the U.S. to clear the way for the children to get visas.

Parents fear the entire adoption process could take even longer now because of the chaos in Haiti. "I think everyone is coping with action and focus on how to get these children out of Haiti," Breems says. "It's at night when they know the child is scared and alone and needs to be comforted."

There is hope efforts will be made to unite the children and their families, according to the Los Angeles Times. But there are bound to be delays in the pending adoption applications because of loss of paperwork due to the earthquake. The Joint Council for International Children's Services is providing periodic updates to families through it's Web site.

Another concern is the new earthquake orphans, children left alone or homeless after the devastation. Before the earthquake, there were about 900 pending Haiti applications in the U.S. Because of the earthquake the U.S. State Department issued a statement letting new prospective adoptive families know it could be a long road to finalize pending adoptions because of paperwork needed to complete forms for U.S. immigration laws. Right now the government recommends making a donation, rather than attempting start a new adoption process for earthquake children. Determining their status could take a very long time, according to the statement.

Related: How to Help Haiti