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2/1/2013

Wasatch is thrilled to announce that we have been selected as one of 19 agencies approved to continue working and placing children in Haiti under new Hague standards!  There are still some steps that need to take place before we can officially process new applications including our program manager flying to Haiti and personally signing the agreement at the IBESR office.  We will be working closely with the Haitian government as they implement the program and anticipate taking new families into the adoptive process the first of March.  Families may send in application only at this time if they wish.  The application fee will be due when we know more about the new process.  For information about adoptions from Haiti please contact Kathy Junk, email address kathy@wiaa.org.

Strong Leadership in Haiti

06/27/2012

One of the primary reasons we came to Haiti was the recent vote by the Haitian government to ratify the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Joint Council has been involved with the Convention since its beginnings in 1993, so when we were asked to provide some input into the Haitian process, it was an easy and eager yes.

The Haitian government, specifically the Institute of Social Welfare and Research (IBESR), has made great strides in serving and protecting children. The new Director at IBESR, Mme. Arielle Jeanty Villedrouin, was appointed only seven months ago yet already she has moved the country towards implementation of the Convention, registered approximately 500 previously unregistered children’s homes, conducted assessments of 200 and closed three of the worst. Most recently she closed an orphanage that although it was receiving funding from sources in three countries, the conditions were such that some children’s ears were being chewed by rats. Having worked in Haiti for 12 years, it is extremely encouraging to see such an educated, impassioned and committed leader at IBESR.

As Mme. Villedrouin moves Haiti toward implementation of the Convention, we are confident that Haiti will not add itself to the list of countries where premature implementation resulted in a closure of adoption, rather than a strengthening of protections and services. As we said to Mme. Villedrouin, we fully support Haiti’s implementation of the Convention and the protections it will bring to children and families and encourage IBESR to use the Hague Guide to Good Practice as the framework for implementation. In short, the Hague’s Guide calls for creation of all necessary laws, regulations and processes prior to the Convention ‘entering into force’ in Haiti.

And we are also very encouraged by the Presidential Decree appointing IBESR as the Haitian Central Authority for the Convention. With such astute and capable leadership, we are sure that Haiti will be one of the first developing countries to use the Convention to protect children and preserve their right to a permanent, safe family.

June 11, 2012

On June 11th, 2012, Haiti ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.  At this time we do not know the date that Haiti will deposit the instrument of ratification to the Hague Permanent Bureau and we do not know whether the Hague Permanent Bureau will accept the ratification.  Ninety days after the instrument is delivered, if the Hague Permanent Bureau accepts their packet, Haiti will become a Hague country.  We have been advised that it is possible that Haiti may hold off for a considerable period of time in depositing their ratification.  There are still many unknowns at this point and a clear timeline of how this will unfold is impossible to foretell.  

At this time the future effects of these changes for U.S. Citizens adopting from Haiti are unclear. Wasatch representatives have been told that Haiti is in favor of continuing international adoptions and has no intention of closing the adoption program.  The current administration of IBESR looks forward to creating a better regulated system, with improved protections in place for Haitian biological families and children being placed for adoption.  IBESR made the decision to temporarily stop accepting new family dossiers until August 1, 2012, making clear their intention to clear out their backlog of cases and to allow IBESR administration the time to implement new policies that would strengthen their system.

It is also unknown how the U.S. Department of State might react to Haiti’s ratification. Historically, even if the Department of State determines that a new Hague nation is not following the convention and therefore closes adoptions from that nation to U.S. Citizens, families in process – those who had filed a form I600-A – were allowed to complete their adoptions.

The Hague Permanent Bureau in their published Guidebook to Good Practices advocates gradual implementation and outlines recommended steps for this process that developing countries should take to strengthen international adoption practice but not prohibit the opportunity that intercountry adoption affords to many children in need.  Many countries have prematurely deposited their articles of ratification and/or implemented the Hague Treaty tenets in such a way that what was intended for child protection becomes a weapon against them.  We certainly hold out great hope that Haiti may hold off on depositing their ratification until sufficient law changes have been passed in Haiti and until their social welfare system has developed the resources to accommodate a system of protection that is actually reasonable, practical and able to be implemented.  

We believe this presents a unique opportunity for the poorest country in the western hemisphere to serve as a valuable model for the best way to implement Hague. We ask that all pray continuously for the Haitian leadership involved to have wisdom and discernment as they move forward.

At this time, Haitian adoptions remain open and a legal option for U.S. Citizens.  All adoptions in process will continue to process, all families working on dossier’s should continue to do so but with advanced diligence.  Wasatch advises all new families considering a Haitian adoption to proceed with caution as we continue to investigate Haiti’s accession to the Hague Convention and what it might mean for future adoptions from Haiti for U.S. Citizens.  Families must be accepting of the risks of pursuing an adoption from Haiti.  We further advise families to check the Department of State's adoption notices for current information on adoption from Haiti, as well as any publications from Joint Council on International Children's Services regarding Haiti. Wasatch will continue to keep current clients appraised of the situation as information becomes available.

Wasatch is currently looking for eligible families to adopt from the Country of Haiti. There are many children available especially boys from 3 months old to 8 years old. Please contact Kathy Junk for information and eligibility* kathy@wiaa.org.   Married couples must be married or in a relationship for 10 years and at least one partner must be 35, prefer family has 2 or less biological children in the home but exceptions can be made.

Haiti Update

Chareyl Moyes
Haiti Coordinator

The country of Haiti is now open for adoptions and we are happy to report that adoptions after the earthquake last January are now moving through the legal system without too much delay.  WIA is accepting families that fit the Haitian adoption criteria:

• Must have been married or have been living together in a stable relationship for at least 10 years.
• Families with no biological children are preferred but we can take families with 1 or 2 biological children.  However, having children living at home can slow down the process as Presidential approval is needed in order to proceed.

WIA has several families in the process right now and we look forward to serving more families in the future.  We have many years of experience working in Haiti and we currently partner with several orphanages.  If you have questions about adopting from Haiti please contact Kathy Junk – email Kathy@wiaa.org.

Our Story
By
Gagrielle and Matthew Carnogursky

In the wake of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that left over 200,000 people dead, Pius Bannus, the Director of the US Field Office in Port-Au-Prince personally cared for hundreds of children and expedited the immigration of 1,100 orphans, allowing them to escape the devastation, hardships and dangers of Haiti and join their adoptive families in America. For his determination and selfless dedication, Mr Bannis was awarded a Citizen Services Medal at the Service to America Medals Award Gala in Washington DC on Sept 15, 2010. The organizers of this event thought it would be fitting if a family who had personally benefitted from Mr Bannis’ efforts were to present him with his award. Having been contacted by the organizers because we live in the Washington area, we gladly accepted the invitation to be the presenting family.

Our family consists of Gabrielle and Matthew Carnogursky, our five biological children: Elizabeth, Nicolas, Marie, Thomas and Catherine, and our three adopted children: Rachel, Gladimi and Ruben. Lizzy is a 1st year engineering student at McGill, so she could not attend. Tommy has an aversion to dress-shirts and ties, so he chose to skip the event and play baseball instead. The rest of us put on our finest clothes and drove 1 hr into downtown DC.

The Awards Gala was held at Andrew Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Ave, just a couple of blocks from the White House. It was a black tie/dress uniform event, so I was grateful I happened to own a formal ball gown –bought for the company-sponsored balls we twice attended in Vienna. The Awards Gala was impressive and even a little intimidating- right on the Washington Mall, with valet parking and a whole host of pretty interns greeting guests and escorting them to the reception area and then to their tables. Gladimi was completely overwhelmed and had to be carried by his father. Ruben was able to walk, but scowled at the thick crowd of fancy-dressed adults said, “J’aime pas ta!” Rachel was perfectly at ease.

I was surprised to find they had actually seated other people at our table; I didn’t think they would “inflict” my children on strangers! But it turns out they had asked Rebecca Harris of Joint Council and her escort if they would mind sitting with us, and they agreed. One of the questions Rebecca asked me was, “What made you choose to adopt?” My answer came instantly, without any need to stop and think: “Because five kids weren’t enough!” People who stop at one or two kids are awed at anyone who raises 8, because they assume that raising 8 kids is four times the work, effort and cost of raising 2 --but that’s simply not true. In many ways, it’s actually easier to raise a large family: siblings are built-in playmates; they keep each other busy, and out of their parents’ hair. My 3 teens are live-in babysitters. Cooking for 8 is no more work than cooking for 4. True, grocery shopping turns into a major expedition, and laundry is never-ending, but it’s all worth it- and then some! Love has no limits; the overflowing, heart-bursting, mind-blowing joy I felt when I gazed on my first-born I now feel EIGHT times over!! And you just can’t put a price on that!

But back to the Gala—
Immediately after the salad course, a woman in a red dress escorted us backstage to wait for our cue. Janet Napolitano, the chief of homeland security, introduced us, making a point of mentioning that once our kids were flown out of Haiti, we had to drive 19hrs from our home in Herndon, VA to Miami, FL to pick up them up, because a severe snow storm had shut down all the airports in our area!! We then climbed up onto the stage and stood in the bright lights in front of a huge audience, while Mr Bannis was presented his award, and my husband Matthew spoke a few words.

Because he was holding his petrified son, he was not able to access to notes he had prepared, so he winged it. He spoke of our fears when we heard about the earthquake, first- whether our children were alive, and then -once that good news eventually reached us- whether the adoption would ever go through now, given the chaos reigning in Haiti. He spoke of our hope when Janet Napolitano okayed Humanitarian Paroles for all children in the process of adoption, and of our joy when Pius Bannis signed the paroles for our three children, allowing them to catch the next flight out of Haiti. Although the children were frozen with fear on stage, Matthew assured the audience that they were very lively and happy kids, and it was pure joy to watch them ride their bikes around the neighborhood, play baseball and go to school just like any normal American kids.

After our brief stage appearance, we were photographed backstage with Mr Bannis and Ms Napolitano, and then were escorted back to our table to enjoy the rest of our meal. Ruben came back to life when the roast beef was put in front of him –that kid has quite an appetite for meat! But poor Gladimi –the quiet, sensitive one- didn’t relax till a clever waiter brought him desert. Even then he didn’t unwind; it was only when Rachel tried to take his desert from him that he snapped out of it and tucked in! Once the boys had relaxed and were back to their normal selves, I knew our time was up. The clever waiter saw our predicament and brought deserts ahead of schedule for the whole table -and then we went home.

It wasn’t until the drive home, when a wave of exhaustion flooded over me, that I realized how stressed I’d been over this event. Taking 6 kids to a formal Washington DC Gala event is not something I would want to do every day! But still I was glad we went. An opportunity like that doesn’t come everyday, and I’m sure the kids will remember this night for the rest of their lives. And so will I!