Haiti Program Update
February 2016
Dear Families,
We are pleased to report that we have a great deal of exciting news to share with you in the February 2016 Haiti Program Update!
One Feb 3, 2016, Angela Jackson and Tania Griasnow returned from a four day visit to Haiti. Angela and Tania traveled to Haiti to meet with our agency representative attorneys , IBSER representatives, USCIS and Consulate staff at the US Embassy in Haiti , as well as Maison Des Anges staff to advocate for the successful and expeditious resolution of our remaining vintage cases as well as to verify the required procedures for processing if Hague cases.
As neither Angela nor Tania had traveled to Haiti previously, they found that a physical presence enabled them to meet adoption colleagues in person and to better understand the logistical as well as the physical challenges those working in the field of international adoptions in Haiti face on a daily basis.
Our first official meeting took place at IBSER, the Central Authority in Haiti. The IBSER offices are housed in an old building that consists of several floors, there are no elevators, just stairs. The offices are quite small and crowded, many of them have no windows. The offices tend to get quite warm as only the Director General’s office has air-conditioning. Some of the offices are equipped with fans, however, power outages are frequent. We in fact experienced a power outage during our meeting with Me. Guillaume. There is a scarcity of computers available for use by IBSER staff. We were told that IBSER is in the process of implementing a data base system for referral matches. At the present time, however, referral matches are done manually. Transportation to and from IBSER can also be a challenge as political demonstrations are a frequent occurrence. During our visit to IBSER we saw an UNICEF bus with a severely shattered windshield parked at the side of the building. We were informed that the windshield was shattered during a demonstration that turned violent. Even though there are times when travel to IBSER needs to be postponed due to demonstration risks, our attorneys visit IBSER three to four times a week.
We were accompanied to IBSER by our agency attorneys/representatives Dr. Oscar Daniel Demayo and Silvia Lidon Millan and Gladys Maximilien from Maison Des Anges. We were quite impressed with the warm welcome Daniel and Silvia received from all the IBSER staff. It was quite evident that they were highly regarded and respected at IBSER.
Upon our arrival at IBSER we were escorted to the office of the head attorney of IBSER, Me. Guillaume. Also present at the meeting was the head of the multi-task disciplinary team which consists of social-workers and psychologists and is responsible for issuing referral matches. The main focus of this meeting was to express our concerns about the length of time it is taking to obtain referral matches for our remaining vintage families. There was concern that a new IBSER requirement stipulating that birth parent would now need to provide an additional document, a voter eligibility document, would significantly increase the timeframes for referral matches and in some cases serve as a prohibitive factor if birth parents were unable or reluctant to obtain this newly required document. After considerable deliberation between all parties present, it was agreed upon that the new voter eligibility document requirement would be waived for all vintage families in an effort to provide referral matches to CAS vintage families before April 1, 2016.
After our visit with Me. Guillaume we were able to meet with Mme. Arielle Jeanty Villedrouin, the Director General of IBSER to introduce ourselves and to reaffirm our agency’s commitment to a collaborative effort with IBSER on behalf of the children of Haiti who are in need of forever families. We were also able to take the opportunity to advocate for our vintage families who were waiting for referral matches. Me. Villedrouin graciously agreed to have her staff follow-up with doing what was possible to expedite the referral matches for our agency’s vintage cases. The meeting ended on a friendly note with us expressing our deep gratitude to the Director General and her staff for all their hard work on behalf of the children of Haiti and their forever families.
We as well as Daniel and Silvia were also able to meet USCIS staff and Chinwe Obianwu, Chief of Adoption Unit at Consular Section of US Embassy, to discuss the status of pending vintage cases who have filed I-600-A s and Hague cases who have filed I-800-A’s. We were informed that all vintage cases will continue to be processed by USCIS. There has been no definite decision made as to whether families who have filed I-600-A and will not receive an official referral match by April 1, 2016 will need to switch to a Hague case and file an I-800-A. There are negotiations taking place between the Embassy and IBSER which may result in a decision to allow vintage cases who do not receive a referral match by April 1, 2016 to extend their I-600-A validity and not have to file an I-800-A. USCIS will keep us apprised of the progress of these negotiations and will notify all agencies when a decision will be made.
All Hague cases will be processed through the Consular Section. The U.S. State Dept. and IBSER are in the process of finalizing the standardized procedure for processing of Hague cases. The State Department will notify all agencies when the processing procedure are finalized.
Our last stop was at Maison Des Anges, the crèche from where most of our recent referral matches have been made. We were pleased to be able to tour the facility and to meet with the staff who provide such excellent care of the children. We were also able to meet with a CAS family who had just received their child’s visa and were leaving for the USA with their child at the end of the week! Everyone at MDA was very excited as there was of total of 5 referral match presented since Dec. 2015. Two families are planning their bonding trips for that latter part of Feb. 2016!
We returned to the U.S. late one Feb. 3, a bit tired but confident that our first journey to Haiti was a successful one, that provided us the opportunity to meet with our Haitian adoption colleagues and together were able to advocate for the children of Haiti and for their forever families. We are encouraged ty the increased activity experienced in the past few months and are optimistic about the future of the Haiti Program. We wanted to share our journey experience and optimism with you!
Sincerely,
Tania Griasnow
Haiti Program Coordinator
Tania Griasnow
Program Coordinator