Save the Children

Saturday, January 23, 2010
Saving the children?

By Chandra Niklewski
Staff Writer

When CNN reporter Anderson Cooper risked injury Monday to save the life of a young boy in Haiti, he was only doing what people all over the world want to do from the safety of their own homes: save the Haitian children.

Save the Children, an agency devoted to aiding children globally, issued a press release stating hundreds of calls have been received regarding adopting the Haitian children affected by the earthquake Jan. 12.

However, whether that is the right way to help is debatable.

"While we realize this is a natural instinct, long experience tells us that it is almost always in the best interests of a child to remain with their relatives and extended family, when possible," the press release by Save the Children states.

UNICEF's Web site reports there were 380,000 orphans in Haiti waiting to find permanent homes before the earthquake that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands. As the rubble is removed and more bodies are found, thousands more children have been left without parents and without homes.

Children from Haiti have come to the United States for treatment at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Indianapolis and to complete the adoption process for American families, but these children were some of the original 380,000 and had already been approved for adoption.

"Screening for international adoption for some Haitian children had been completed prior to the earthquake. Where this is the case, there are clear benefits to speeding up their travel to their new homes," UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said in a statement.

"The international adoptions of children from Haiti whose full legal documents were completed prior to the earthquake should certainly go forward, so those children who had already been clearly identified as orphans before the disaster can be transported to their new homes. But we ask that no new adoption procedures of children affected by the earthquake begin until every child has been given the best possible chance of being reunited with his or her family," Save the Children's release echoed.

Bob Anderson, assistant director at Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services, said if adopting a child orphaned by the earthquake in Haiti is something people are serious about, they need to understand there is a process to go through.

Most importantly, children in Haiti have to be confirmed as orphans.

"In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, extreme caution must be used and time taken to carefully verify the situation of children. Only once the family tracing effort has been exhausted and it is determined that children cannot be reunited, and after proper screening, should international adoption be considered," according to the release by Save the Children.

With so many of the country's inhabitants dead or missing, officials stated there is no accurate count of the number dead, according to the United Nations Web site, and there is no amount of time given for when the bodies can be identified, if at all.

Officials are more focused on taking care of the living.

So the children of Haiti will have to wait until it is determined they no longer have parents or relatives who can take them in.

"Every effort will be made to reunite children with their families. Only if that proves impossible, and after proper screening has been carried out, should permanent alternatives like adoption be considered by the relevant authorities," Veneman stated.

Save the Children's release explained the risk to the children of Haiti if procedures move forward too quickly.

"Haiti's infrastructure has been severely damaged by the disaster, and with it the systems to ensure that children are correctly identified as orphans. The possibility of a child being mistakenly labeled as an orphan during this time is incredibly high," Save the Children states.

Until the children are confirmed as orphans, people in the United States who wish to adopt still need to become licensed before adopting a child, a process which is unable to be completed in less than a few months' time.

After applying to become foster parents, those interested have 180 days to acquire a license.

Anderson said 36 hours of training is required in Seneca County for prospective parents to receive a license to foster children. With one six-hour Saturday session at a time, that amounts to six weeks of waiting.

Also, once the training process is complete, home assessments are needed to determine a placement is suitable.

Anderson said the shortest time anyone in his organization has observed a person go through the process and receive a license is three months, meaning regardless what a person wants to do to help at the present time, things may change.

"Even if you did it quickly, that's still three months down the road," Anderson said.

There are many things to consider before bringing a child into the home. A questionnaire provided by the Seneca County DJFS highlights a few of the many subjects which should be discussed among family members before the process is started.

Questions regarding how prospective parents will respond to a child's religious choices, concerns from other family members, as well as responses to a child coming into the home with head lice or who is unclean are only a few examples.

Once the application and training is complete, the home study can take place. The process requires a great deal of information gathering and discussion with social workers.

Background information such as military, criminal, residential, employment, relationship and financial history, as well as the current financial situation must be reviewed. A safety inspection of the home by a social worker and a fire inspection by the local fire department is also required. Parents will need to complete a medical exam to prove they are physically able to care for a child and references will need to speak with a social worker, too, to provide further information on a person's suitability.

Interviews with a social worker will include topics of personal and family history, how to deal with stress, child care insights, the family's strengths and weaknesses, feelings regarding sexual development, religious issues and the motivation to adopt.

For international adoption, another important aspect of adopting a child involves medical history of the child. Internationally, medical records may not be as complete and a couple may adopt a child with a serious undisclosed medical ailment, according to FamilyEducation.com. With a number of Haitian children displaced after the earthquake, it could take months or years to determine what medical issues face these newest Haitian orphans.

Prospective parents should prepare themselves to deal with unknown medical problems in the future, according to the site.

Anderson said everyone is different and each family should proceed as they see best.

"I think people need to make their own personal decisions about what's best for them," Anderson said.

Anderson explained all families, whether planning to be foster parents, or adoptive parents of a child domestically or internationally should do the research, get as much information as they can and get licensed.