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For-Profit Orphanages Keep Haitian Families Apart

Jennifer Morgan

International Rescue Committee's Family Tracing and Reunification Coordinator in Haiti

Posted: March 21, 2011 06:09 PM

Read More: Haiti , Haiti Earthquake , Haiti Orphanages , Ibesr , International Rescue Committee , Orphanages ,Orphans , Impact News

Port-au-Prince, Haiti -- "Stop reunifying children with their families!"

These were the words that greeted me when I arrived at work one morning a few months ago, from the director of a Port-au-Prince orphanage, furious at me for doing my job: tracing the relatives of children separated from their families.

"You are destroying my business," he screamed.

We suspected that the orphanage director, who runs one of an estimated 600-plus orphanages in Haiti, was making a profit by using children to garner donations and fees from dubious adoptions.

My job -- as coordinator of the International Rescue Committee's (IRC) family tracing and reunification program in Haiti -- is to help remove children from abusive or exploitative situations, like this man's orphanage, and place them in a safe family environment.

While there are an estimated 124,000 children who lost one parent and 7,000 who lost both parents during the earthquake that struck Haiti last January, (according to USAID/OCHA), and others who were orphaned before last year's disaster, the reality is that the majority of children in these orphanages are not orphans at all. Many have living parents and relatives who, while they love their children, feel that they do not have the economic means to house, clothe, feed and send them to school. Orphanages that promise a better life for children may appear attractive to poor families, but there is often no way of knowing whether the children are treated well and given access to health care and education, or whether they are being exploited, abused or trafficked. Some Haitian orphanages are run by well-intentioned people who have the means and ability to properly care for groups of vulnerable children, but many of these facilities are unregulated and routinely disregard basic human rights.

I spent several hours at one such facility in late January after the IRC received reports of suspicious deaths, disappearances and abuse of children. I was accompanied by my Haitian colleagues, social workers trained by the IRC, and representatives from the government Institute for Social Well Being and Research (IBESR). The faith-based group that ran the orphanage was openly hostile to our presence and reluctant to give us access. Once we managed to get inside, it was a dismal scene. Small children sat inertly in rows, some on benches and others on the floor, and I was struck by the lack of noise in a space where there were more than 70 children. The children barely talked or moved, returning our greetings with vacant stares. A few children showed a spark of interest in playing with my colleagues, but most of the younger children were unresponsive, while the older children were extremely wary and distrustful of speaking to strangers. Several of the children were brought to a nearby IRC medical clinic and treated for high fever, flu and a variety of skin infections. Several of the children were also found to be malnourished and were referred for treatment.

A colleague from another international child protection organization recently told me about a troubling visit he made to a residential center for children in the south of Haiti. The children, my colleague said, were all painfully thin. He asked the head of the center if they had the means to feed the children adequately, and the director replied: "We have lots of money. But we if keep the children thin, when we send pictures to church groups in the United States, they send more money. If we send pictures of children who look healthy, they don't send as much money."

Another colleague, an international aid worker who had worked in a Port-au-Prince orphanage, told me of an orphanage where she had witnessed babies being placed on a chair and then left unsupervised, where they were in danger of rolling off onto the floor. When the aid worker instinctively rushed to catch one child, she was scolded by the orphanage staff to let the child fall: "This is how they learn to keep still and quiet."

I've spent over six years working in child protection across 10 countries, including in regions that have been ravaged by brutal conflict, but I am still deeply shocked when I hear about this kind of behavior. At a basic human level, how can anyone treat a child like this?

This handful of personal anecdotes provides a glimpse into a much larger, systemic problem of orphanages in Haiti. Granted not all of them are terrible places and not all are run by exploitative or heartless opportunists. Indeed, some of them fill a badly-needed gap in temporary child care. But the reality is that far too many of these harmful institutions exist.

The Haitian government body responsible for child welfare, IBESR, suffered tremendous losses in the earthquake and is struggling to monitor and regulate the numerous institutions throughout the country. The IRC is part of an inter-agency effort to help IBESR carry out this important work. Those of us involved in this effort fear that the many for-profit orphanages are using the challenging post-earthquake situation to their advantage by operating under the radar to lure children from poor families and then offer them up in the interests of international donations, dubious international adoptions or trafficking. As Frantz Thermilus, chief of Haiti's judicial police, told the New York Times, "so-called orphanages that have opened in the last couple of years" are actually "fronts for criminal organizations that take advantage of people who are homeless and hungry. And with the earthquake they see an opportunity to strike in a big way."

A recent report by the international aid organization Save the Children detailed these shady "recruitment" campaigns by unregulated institutions, outlining how children from poor families are then sold for profit to child traffickers and shady adoption agencies. The report criticizes the financial and material support of such agencies, often by unwitting or unknowing donors in foreign countries, noting that such support can actually lead to an increase in the separation of children from their families and result in psychological and emotional damage to children. "For every three months a child spends in an orphanage," the report says, "they lose one month of development. If young children grow up in large group care, a lack of long-term individual care can result in permanent brain damage."

Rather than strengthening the activities of the for-profit orphanages, the IRC believes in helping parents and extended family members to care for their own children. In coordination with the government, the IRC is working with children, their families and communities to enable sustainable family reunification. Instead of pouring money into institutions that keep families apart while robbing children of the right to be raised in a nurturing family environment, we would prefer to see those funds used to bolster a parent or caregiver's ability to provide for their child. I would urge readers to ask themselves: where would you rather your money go?

To find out more about the International Rescue Committee's work in Haiti, please go torescue.org/haiti

Countries: United States of America, Haiti

Ukraine/adoption: 2 Français arrêtés

AFP

21/03/2011 | Mise à jour : 21:20 Réactions (24)

Deux Français ont été arrêtés aujourd'hui à la frontière ukraino-hongroise pour avoir tenté de sortir illégalement d'Ukraine deux bébés auxquels ils avaient donné des somnifères, selon les gardes-frontière ukrainiens.

Les bébés, deux jumelles âgées de deux mois, nées d'une mère porteuse en Ukraine, avaient été cachées dans les placards d'un camping-car par leur père biologique et son propre père, ont précisé les gardes-frontière dans un communiqué.

Countries: France, Ukraine

Five questions for Hans Guijt (Terre des Hommes)

On Monday it was announced that Terre Des Hommes will still be awarded a subsidy from MFS-II. After the rejection last year, Terre des Hommes has lodged an objection in an alliance with the Stichting Kinderpostzegels and the Liliane Foundation. A good reason to call Hans Guijt, head of projects at Terre des Hommes. He was relieved that Terre des Hommes now shows that they do meet all strict quality criteria: “We have lost the image of loser”. 1. Congratulations on securing the grant. Did you have a party? 'We held a modest party with the supporters and people from the field. There is no 'cheer', there is no reason to do so. Above all, it is a sense of relief that all our efforts over the past two years have been rewarded. We finally know where we stand. But above all, we are relieved that it is recognized that Terre des Hommes meets the strict quality criteria. It still felt like a vote of no confidence. We are rid of the 'image of loser'. That was unjustified. We have now shown that we do meet the quality standards, even the strictest. In the end we are very happy. ' 2. Did the grant award come as a surprise?'Yes and no. No, because I would have been very surprised if it were not awarded. The notice of objection was well put together. We made some mistakes in the first application, but we worked hard on that. I would have thought it wrong if we had been judged differently. But on the other hand, it also came as a surprise, because we assumed the worst. Such hard blows had already fallen to the development organizations. ' 3. Did you gain insight into the reason for the ministry to reject the application on the basis of two points?'I must admit that I haven't gotten around to reading the papers yet. It is such a huge job. I'm going to struggle through that at my leisure. Two of the nine points were honored, so that we still ended up with sixty points. I don't know yet on the basis of which criteria the two points were awarded and what was wrong with the other seven points. However, I have remembered the last sentence of the letter: “the decision has been amended and approved”. We have yet to see what will happen next. We do not yet know what is expected of us and what the consequences will be for our programs and partners. This information is still on the way. ' 4. Are you disappointed that less than half has been awarded to the alliance, EUR 32 million instead of EUR 68 million?'No, we are certainly not disappointed, 32 million euros is a lot of money. Certainly because otherwise we would not have received anything at all. We are happy that the work can continue. We simply live in a time when we all have to step back. So no, we are very happy . ' 5. How is the distribution made among the alliance (Stichting Kinderpostzegels and the Liliane Foundation)? Laughing: 'We take everything and the others nothing, I thought so. No, we'll talk about it calmly. That will not be a problem because we have a pleasant contact with each other. Probably the allocation key is determined in such a way that each organization receives 40% of the amount submitted by them. That is the percentage we were ultimately awarded of the amount we originally submitted.

Countries: Netherlands

Organizations: Terre des Hommes Netherlands

Cambodia: towards the opening of adoptions

Date: 18-03-11
Cambodia: towards the opening of adoptions
E 'spent just over a year after the entry into force of the new law on international adoptions in Cambodia, which was approved in December 2009 by the National Assembly, the legislative body that regulates the country's laws on adoptions.

The new law was designed to ensure compliance with the terms of the procedures envisaged by the Hague Convention , to which Cambodia has acceded in 2007.

In line with expectations last year, so in April 2011, the Cambodian adoptions have reopened following the entry into force of the new law, the Commission for International Adoptions (CAI) in a statement on its website announced that " On 14 March, the Cambodian Minister of Social Affairs Ith Sam Heng found a positive letter of the President Giovanardi 10 February 2011 which requested accreditation under the new law on adoptions, the eight Italian institutions already licensed and operating in country.
This is a very successful Italian line and the concrete recognition of the leading institutions and conducted by the Commission in supporting Cambodia in the implementation of the Hague Convention. "

Countries: Cambodia, Italy

US Maintains Ban on Cambodian Adoptions

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh Friday, 18 March 2011

US Envoy to Take Up Cambodia, Vietnam Adoption

U.S. Department of State

Baby Sellers Spark Alert

Countries: United States of America, Cambodia

Persons: Susan S. Jacobs

High Court asks Delhi Police to set up taskforce

Harish V Nair, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, March 17, 2011

Email to Author

First Published: 00:30 IST(17/3/2011)

Countries: India

L'ambassadeur français des adoptions s'inspire des Américains

Informal translation:

The French ambassador adoptions being inspired by Americans

Jean-Paul Monchau, France's ambassador in charge of international adoptions has met his U.S. counterpart in Washington.

Anaïs Digonnet
March 17, 2011
Traveling to Washington and Atlanta in late February, Jean-Paul Monchau, France's ambassador in charge of international adoptions has met his U.S. counterpart and a specialized service provider. Objective: To follow the example of professionalism in American adoptions.

I first went to Washington where I met my counterpart, Ambassador Susan Jacobs, who handles matters relating to child protection and international adoptions. It is important to exchange information on adoption procedures in place for example. In Atlanta, I met members of the organization Illien Adoptions International, which, in some cases, does adoption of American children to foreign countries.

Is this the case with France?

What they call "outgoing adoptions" in the direction of France, was one element of our conversation. The world moves. There are French or Franco-American families who could, in some cases, adopt American children. Adoption is an of increasingly complicated t and sophisticated subjec. It is both a love story, but also a history of rights. The United States is the first receiving country with 11 000 foreign adoptions made each year, while France is at the third place with 3,504 children adopted in 2010.

What other differences are there between foreign adoptions on both sides of the Atlantic?

Which also connects France and the United States is that these two countries have ratified the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. However, in France, adoption agencies are organized around volunteers who do this with all their heart. In the U.S., they are also non-profit structures, but there are specialist staff and employees, lawyers, doctors, psychologists, etc..

Is it a model for the functioning of agencies in France?

It's part of our thinking. In 2008 when I took my position, there were 42 accredited organizations, primarily voluntary. I then asked them to pool their forces and regroup. Today they are 34. The next step will be to have more access to specific personnel and professionals. It is in this sense that we try to focus our efforts. In all cases, we must do everything so that children can remain in their country. If no solution, at that moment, we must consider international adoption. It is first about giving a family a child to a family.

What are your plans to continue to improve foreign adoptions for French families?

I just returned from Moscow where we just signed a bi-lateral agreement with Russia on international adoptions, since many French families wishing to adopt from this country. I'll be visiting soon to Vietnam, which this year will ratify the Hague Convention. Finally, we have a huge effort to make in Haiti, which has also signed that text. This country needs to strengthen its rules and structures in adoption. With Quebec, the United States, Italy and other European countries, we will present a cooperation plan to help Haitians put in place measures for the protection of children. Procedures must be clearer and the State needs more controls in this area.

For more information:

In 2010, 3,504 children were adopted abroad by French families, including 992 in Haiti, 469 in Vietnam, 969 in Colombia, 352 in Ethiopia and 301 in Russia.

===========================================================================================

France-Amérique.com > Actualité > Société

L'ambassadeur français des adoptions s'inspire des Américains

Jean-Paul Monchau, l’ambassadeur de France chargé des adoptions internationales a rencontré son homologue américaine à Washington.

Anaïs Digonnet

17 mars 2011

En déplacement à Washington et Atlanta fin février, Jean-Paul Monchau, l’ambassadeur de France chargé des adoptions internationales a rencontré son homologue américaine et un organisme spécialisé. Objectif : prendre exemple sur le professionnalisme américain en matière d'adoptions.

Je me suis d’abord rendu à Washington où j’ai rencontré mon homologue, l’ambassadeur Susan Jacobs, qui s’occupe des questions touchant à la protection de l’enfance et aux adoptions internationales. Il est important d’échanger des informations sur les procédures d’adoption en place par exemple. A Atlanta, j’ai rencontré des membres de l’organisationIllien Adoptions International, qui permet, dans certains cas, l’adoption d’enfants américains dans des pays étrangers.

Est-ce le cas avec la France?

Ce qu’ils appellent ces « outgoing adoptions » en direction de la France, ont été un des éléments de nos conversation. Le monde bouge. Il y a des familles françaises ou franco-américaines qui pourraient être amenées, dans quelques cas, à adopter des enfants américains. L’adoption est un sujet de plus en plus délicat et sophistiqué. C’est à la fois une histoire d’amour, mais aussi une histoire de droit. Les Etats-Unis est le premier pays d’accueil d’enfants avec 11 000 adoptions à l’étranger réalisées chaque année, tandis que la France est à la troisième position, avec 3 504 enfants adoptés en 2010.

Quelles sont les autres différences entre les adoptions à l’étranger des deux côtés de l’Atlantique ?

Ce qui relie aussi la France et les Etats-Unis, c’est que ces deux pays ont ratifié la convention de La Haye en 1993 sur la protection des enfants et la coopération en matière d’adoption internationale. Cependant, en France, les agences d’adoption sont organisées autour de bénévoles qui font cela avec tout le cœur. Au Etats-Unis, ce sont aussi des structures à but non lucratif, mais il y a du personnel spécialisé et salarié, des juristes, des médecins, des psychologues, etc.

Est-ce un modèle à suivre pour la fonctionnement des agences en France ?

Cela fait partie de nos réflexions. En 2008, lorsque j’ai pris mon poste, il y avait 42 organisations agréées, dans le monde associatif principalement. Je leur ai alors demandé de mutualiser leurs forces et de se regrouper. Aujourd’hui, elles sont 34. La prochaine étape sera d’avoir plus recours à du personnel spécifique et professionnels. C’est dans ce sens que nous essayerons de faire porter nos efforts. Dans tous les cas, il faut tout faire pour que les enfants puissent rester dans leur pays. S’il n’y a pas de solution, à ce moment là, il faut envisager l’adoption internationale. Il s’agit d’abord de donner une famille à un enfant et non un enfant à une famille.

Quels sont vos projets pour continuer à améliorer les adoptions à l’étranger pour les familles françaises ?

Je rentre de Moscou où nous venons de signer un accord bi-latéral avec la Russie en matière d’adoptions internationales, car de nombreuses familles françaises souhaitent adopter dans ce pays. Je me rendrai aussi prochainement au Vietnam, qui va ratifier cette année la convention de La Haye. Enfin, nous avons un énorme effort à faire en direction d’Haïti; qui vient aussi de signer le texte. Ce pays a besoin de renforcer ses règles et ses structures en matière d’adoption. Avec le Québec, les Etats-Unis, l’Italie et d’autres pays européens, nous allons présenter un plan de coopération pour aider les Haïtiens à mettre en place des mesure en faveur de la protection de l’enfance. Il faut que les procédures soient plus claires et que l’Etat fasse plus de contrôles dans ce domaine.

Pour en savoir plus:

En 2010, 3 504 enfants ont été adoptés à l'étranger par des familles françaises, dont 992 en Haïti, 469 au Vietnam, 969 en Colombie, 352 en Ethiopie et 301 en Russie.

Organizations: Illien Adoptions International, Inc.

Persons: Susan S. Jacobs, Jean-Paul Monchau

Countries: Russia, France, Italy, Vietnam, Haiti, United States of America

Police told to probe child trafficking gangs

2011-03-16 18:40:00

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New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday took a serious view of police failure to trace missing children and directed Delhi Police chief to constitute a task force to find out if gangs were involved in child trafficking.

The division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna pulled up police while referring to a report filed by the Delhi Legal Services Authority stating that over 500 children missing since the past one year have not been rescued.

Countries: India

Vietnam initiates first national program on child protection

Wednesday,Mar 16,2011, Posted at: 14:01(GMT+7)

Vietnam initiates first national program on child protection

The United Nations Children’s Fund and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs have set up the first National Program on Child Protection for the period 2011-2015 in Vietnam.

Chidren must be protected from human trafficking, kidnapping, abuse, violence and injury. Vietnam first has National Program on Child Protection

This decision has just received the Prime Minister’s approval and marks an important milestone in the development and growth of children in Vietnam. The National Program targets all children, particularly those with special needs and those that are abused, exploited or are juvenile delinquents.

The program aims to reduce the percentage of children with special needs to less than 5.5 percent, provide care, recuperation and rehabilitation to 80 percent of such children, identify and provide early intervention to 70 percent of highly vulnerable children and establish a child protection service system in 50 percent of all provinces and cities across the country by 2015.

While Vietnam has achieved impressive economic growth and social progress, the country is facing a growing need to protect its children. Over 1.6 million Vietnamese children are currently living in special circumstances as defined by the Law on Child Protection, Care and Education.

If other groups of vulnerable children are included in this definition, such as victims of human trafficking, kidnapping, abuse, violence and injury as well as children from impoverished families, the total number of children in special circumstances would rise to around 4.3 million or 18 percent of the total child population of Vietnam.

The total budget for the program is VND1, 756 billion (US$90 million). As planned, VND913.5 billion will be provided from the national budget, VND742 billion from local budgets, VND70 billion from international organizations and VND30 billion from communities and other sources. The Program will be implemented across the country, focusing on areas with a high number of children in need and at risk which includes all children from ethnic minorities as well as disadvantaged areas.

The Program has developed over the years and proved beneficial from consistent efforts made by concerned Government agencies at national and sub-national levels, as well as from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other international organizations.

The Prime Minister’s approval of the National Program on Child Protection shows the Government’s strong commitment for child protection and care. The Program will give direction to activities in the next five years which will contribute to the creation of a safe and friendly environment for children and the prevention and elimination of risk factors that cause harm to children. The Program will provide timely support, recuperation and rehabilitation services for children in special circumstances as well as abused and exploited children.

“We applaud the Government for this great decision and its strong budget commitments. We strongly believe that the National Program on Child Protection will substantially improve care and protection for children in Vietnam, in particular vulnerable children.” said Lotta Sylwander, UNICEF’s Representative in Vietnam.

The National Program on Child Protection has five sector of focus, namely: i) communication, education and social mobilization; ii) strengthening of volunteers and other staff working on child care and protection at all levels; iii) development of a child protection service system, including a child protection structure, social service centers, counseling centers and a community network of child protection; iv) development and scaling up of community-based models on care and support for children in special circumstances, especially orphans, abandoned children, children with disabilities, street children, sexually abused children and children and minors in conflict with the law; v) improving the effectiveness of state management on child care and protection.

The National Program on Children Protection will hopefully address the complexity of child protection issues and thus contribute to the long-term economic and social well-being of Vietnam.

By Uyen Phuong

Countries: Vietnam

Organizations: Unicef New York

Raise money for foster parents

Google translation:

Raise money for foster parents
Valentina Simeonova, Deputy Minister of Labour
and Social Policy

- Mrs. Simeon, what increase in social benefits is being considered because the prices of food and fuel?
- The social assistance system is not a means to cope with economic problems. It is focused more on how a specific person to deal with a personal problem. Of course, all these phenomena have economic and social manifestations. Many people get poorer and become clients of social assistance. Social benefits are tied to guaranteed minimum income, which is 65 EUR preparing estimates of how much money will be needed to increase it, taking into account inflation. It is 5.2% currently. If so by increasing the guaranteed minimum income would require 7.5 million additional budget costs. Because the release of the guaranteed minimum income leads to increase in all social payments - monthly social assistance, allowances for people with disabilities and children's allowances.
- How many people are on welfare in our country?
- For all of 2010 116,000 people were receiving social assistance. Monthly average they are 44 342. Moreover, the Integration of Persons with Disabilities last year assisted 543 thousand. Target heating subsidies received 206,452 persons, child benefit - 570,577 families.
- What happens to the big reform that began last year - the closing of specialized institutions for children and keeping them in conditions close to family?
- This is a complex and lengthy process. Year and a half, however, managed to reverse the perception of us as Bulgaria's Mogilino in a country that has been identified as the most successful model of reform for the deinstitutionalization of these children. We have already begun and implementation of specific projects. Rated all of the homes for disabled children and homes from 0 to 3 years - more than 3000 children. By May municipalities will be ready with their projects for new small family homes and start their construction. Start a new project to foster care with much greater resources - 15 million of the Operational Programme "Human Resources".
- How many children currently being raised in foster care?
- Thanks to the help of our partners by UNICEF last year sharply increased the number of foster families. So far these are accommodated 559 children. Only in 2010 housed 221, ie a 50% growth. We will make a standard that takes into account real life, and are likely to increase funds for maintenance and payment of foster families. At the moment it is up to 360 leva for a foster parent, depending on the number of children. We want to encourage people specialists to address this serious work, not just unemployed people to become foster parents.
- How many babies are abandoned annually?
- Still the number is over 2000. Most worrying is the fact that half of these children are still abandoned in the maternity hospital. This means that we lack for prevention. Will increase the number of protected points "Mother and Child, where the first 6 months professionals caring mother to acquire parenting skills. There are currently 10 - too weak. We have planned to build such centers in all districts. During this six months, while single mothers are in them will be sought for accommodation. People from the EU still can not believe that Bulgaria babies are abandoned in institutions. There immediately after birth is a professional foster family. Meanwhile prepare the environment for its adoption.
- It became clear that to write a new law on child and family. Why have it?
- Our idea is to integrate the whole matter to children in a single act. Moreover, the current law on child protection focus are children at risk. The new law will be based on the fundamental rights of children, creating an environment that ensures the proper development of children in Bulgaria. And the family and responsible parenthood will be part of this new law. Like all institutions with clear responsibilities for the care and development of children. For those who do not fulfill their responsibilities, there will be sanctions. Including parents. There are many ideas for penalties for poor parents, although I am more incentives for good. Including available and the criminalization of child abandonment, such as legislative practice in many countries. It is unacceptable to abandon children. But if you go to criminality, that means we need to create an environment to support parents so that they do not abandon their children. The project will be ready in late April.
- And what incentives will be offered for good parents?
- Think for individual family support. For example, parents whose children attend school and show results in the learning process, to receive more aid. Support can be both financially and materially - clothes, books, computers. They will target groups at risk, because there is a problem, but the best parents in most cases do not rely on social assistance system.
Mila Kisiova

Countries: Bulgaria

Organizations: Unicef New York