Haitian Orphan Program Questions Best Directed to U.S. State Department
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 | 07:43am
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a new program designed to help children have been orphaned by the earthquake in Haiti:
"On Jan. 18, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State, announced a humanitarian parole policy allowing orphaned children from Haiti to enter the United States temporarily on an individual basis to ensure that they receive the care they need—as part of the U.S. government’s ongoing support of international recovery efforts after last week’s earthquake."
And that has led many concerned and caring Tennesseans to begin contacting the Tennessee Department of Children's Services to inquire about what role DCS would play in any humanitarian efforts or with any potential Haitian adoptions in this state.
However, this is a federal and international effort regarding care for children from another country, not a DCS program. It is subject to The Hague Convention governing international adoptions, not the set of interstate placement laws with which Tennessee routinely deals.
We encourage Tennesseans who are interested in the newly announced program for Haitian children to visit the U.S. State Department's website on international adoptions: http://adoption.state.gov/about/who/eligibility.html