Haitian Adoptions and Humanitarian Parole
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced the provision of “humanitarian parole” for certain Haitian orphans. The policy allows “orphaned children from Haiti to enter the United States temporarily on an individual basis to ensure that they receive the care they need.” At this point, humanitarian parole is not being offered to orphans generally, but to children that have previously been documented as eligible for adoption and matched with a U.S. family for adoption. Per DHS, humanitarian parole will be granted on a case by case basis for individuals meeting the following criteria:
- Children who have been legally confirmed as orphans eligible for intercountry adoption by the Government of Haiti and are being adopted by U.S. citizens.
- Children who have been previously identified by an adoption service provider or facilitator as eligible for intercountry adoption and have been matched to U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents.
A statement by DHS Secretary Napolitano indicates, “While we remain focused on family reunification in Haiti, authorizing the use of humanitarian parole for orphans who are eligible for adoption in the United States will allow them to receive the care they need here.”
More information about humanitarian parole and TPS is available at http://www.uscis.gov/ or by calling USCIS toll-free at (800) 375-5283. DHS encourages U.S. citizens with pending adoption cases in Haiti to send them detailed information about their cases to HaitianAdoptions@dhs.gov.
Here are the DHS press release and facts sheet.
Posts 
[...] issue of adoption or temporary care for children in Haiti, the U.S. government has already granted humanitarian parole for certain Haitian adoptions that were already in process. One of the best places for reliable information relating to Haitian [...]
We are parents looking to adopt. Our Home Study is almost complete. How or who do we talk to regarding the orphans that are coming to the US?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rachel Garlando, Noel Piper. Noel Piper said: U.S. Dept of Homeland Security announces the provision of “humanitarian parole” for certain Haitian orphans. http://ow.ly/YjBz [...]
Many families are asking how they can learn more about the possibility of taking in Haitian orphans. At this point, the U.S. government has not yet determined if or to what extent it will issue broad “humanitarian parole” provisions allowing a large number of Haitian orphans to enter the U.S. Furthermore, if large-scale entry is allowed, it is currently unknown precisely what governmental mechanisms would be used to place the children in care–most likely temporary care first, and then longer term and/or permanent/adoptive care.
It is likely the Federal government would rely heavily upon state government social services agencies–particularly those that currently oversee state foster systems. In this scenario, states would likely turn first to individuals that have already been approved by them to care for foster children and also to existing foster care facilities like current group homes . Very likely, however, if more than a modest number of Haitian orphans entered the country, states would look to rapidly expand capacity–possibly with an expedited approval process for foster families and facilities. Almost certainly, a number of Federal agencies would also be heavily involved with this process–including the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement and Children’s Bureau. These agencies may opt to do some of their work through large national organizations in addition to states.
At this point, as heartening as it is to see the tremendous willingness of American families to open their homes to Haitian orphans, it is best for interested individuals to wait until additional details are known about whether large numbers of Haitian orphans will be entering the U.S., and what the designated process would be for approving homes to receive them.