No real updates...

I really do not have much to update...

The U.S. Consulate in Port-au-Prince is going to hold another adoption workshop to which they will invite orphanage directors and Haitian government officials. The workshop will be scheduled some time in November since that is the "adoption month".

Additionally, USCIS and the U.S. Consular Section have become much more "user friendly" and have returned to being customer oriented, meaning that interactions are polite and professional. This is a nice change from the way it had been for the time period of November 2007 through about May 2009. It is nice to be treated in a professional manner.  :)

Judge Cadet in the PAP Parquet (court) is continuing to require adoptive parents to attend the court hearing regarding their adoptions. I really wonder how many families are not going to adopt from Haiti because they cannot afford taking trips to Haiti and/or rather choose to adopt from a country that makes the adoption process easier than Haiti. Ultimately, it will be the kids who loose out on families...

Presidential Waivers - are being issued. I have had some emails from families whose attorneys claim that they do not have access to the office that deals with the waivers. That is really not true. It is a time consuming process to hunt down the files that are waiting for waivers, but it can be done.

Selecting an orphanage to adopt from - I get many emails from families stuck in the adoption process with incredible waits, wanting assistance. I can assist some families, especially if the orphanage is cooperative, but most orphanages are not cooperative for a variety of reasons. It is extremely important to do thorough research before deciding who to adopt through. 

Also, just because an orphanage is contracted with an adoption agency does not mean that the process will be smooth and timely. Most adoption agencies have no control over the adoption process with the orphanage. 

Do not let pretty websites or religious/pretty names fool you. Talk with parents who have their children at home! Ask them questions. Most families who have experienced some nice hand-holding through the dossier process, etc. will sing praises to their respective orphanage or adoption agency, BUT they are still in process and cannot really give a reference.  

Some orphanages that do a great job processing adoptions are not best at hand holding because they are busy working, pushing adoptions through the process. 

Some orphanages are lying regarding the status of the adoption files. For example, some orphanages claim that a file is in Ministry of Interior (MOI) awaiting final signature when in fact the file is not even submitted in MOI! So, MOI gets the blame when in fact the orphanage is telling stories to the adoptive families.

Researching is so important! Once you have a child referred to you and your orphanage does not like "outside assistance", you are stuck with them and the process... For example, I met a family recently whose adoption, from the time that the dossier was submitted to Haiti, took almost five (5) years. That is an insane timeline! Sometime there is a problem with locating an Archive Log Book where a death or birth certificate is recorded, but that does not drag out an adoption to five years!