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July 14, 2010 Click here to read: The Haitian Twelve- A Report on Haitian Children Institutionalized in the United States Click here to read: A Six-Month Update on the Humanitarian Parole Program for Haitian Children Click here to read: A … Continue reading →

July 12, 2010 More, Right, Enough: Thoughts on the six-month remembrance of the Haiti earthquake T oday marks six-months since the 35-second quake that shook Haiti, killed 300,000, and left millions without a home -traumatizing a nation. The death and … Continue reading →

July 12, 2010 Sonje Lan Timoun – A Remembrance of Haiti’s Most Vulnerable Beginning on Monday, Joint Council will conduct a remembrance of the January 12th earthquake. For five days we will honor those who perished in the January 12 … Continue reading →

July 6, 2010 USCIS Releases Guidance on Finalizing Haitian HP Adoptions U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released additional guidance for parents whose adoptive or prospective adoptive children entered the United States under the special humanitarian parole program for … Continue reading →

May 13, 2010 Joint Council Delegation to travel to Haiti Joint Council President & CEO Tom DiFilipo, and Director of Programs & Services, Rebecca Harris, will lead a delegation to Haiti from June 5, 2010 to June 10, 2010. The … Continue reading →

April 30, 2010 Joint Council has published a Summary Report entitled Intercountry Adoption in Haiti: Safeguards and Protections . Joint Council provides the Summary Report to assist individuals, families, and professionals with an understanding the current situation of intercountry adoption … Continue reading →

April 27, 2010 Clarification on New Adoption Applications The text of the announcement by the Department of State states: “We encourage prospective adoptive parents to submit their adoption applications directly through the IBESR…”. This may be interpreted as instructing adoptive … Continue reading →

April 7, 2010 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will stop accepting new requests for parole under the Special Humanitarian Parole Program for Haitian Orphans effective April 13, 2010, because the Haitian government has requested that the United States bring … Continue reading →

February 1, 2010 1:45 pm Joint Council staff just returned from a trip to Haiti. More information can be found on our blog.

January 19, 2010 1:00 pm KENTUCKY ADOPTION SERVICES, INC. NO CONTACT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE HAITI ORPHAN PLIGHT (19 January 2010)-Emergency visas have been issued for many children already adopted in Haiti, and orphan arrivals into Pennsylvania and Florida have occurred … Continue reading →

January 17, 2010 10:30 a.m. Yesterday a list of Haitian orphanages including their location and approximate number of children was presented to USAID by Congressman Jim Cooper. This effort to deliver emergency aid, continues to be a collaborative effort by … Continue reading →

January 16, 2010 2:00 pm All of us at Joint Council extend our sincere condolences to the family of Molly Hightower of Port Orchard, Washington. Ms. Hightower was a dedicated volunteer working with Haitian orphans and hoped to work in … Continue reading →

January 15, 2010 5:40 pm Visas Issued Joint Council has confirmed that a handful of Haitian children, whose adoptions were finalized by the Haitian courts and whose adoptive parents were in Port au Prince at the time of the earthquake, … Continue reading →

January 14, 2010 Sometimes it is more than one can bear. Living in abject poverty. Living in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Living with no mother, no father. And now this. Yesterday, while the good people of Haiti … Continue reading →

September 21, 2009 Haitian Children & Families Initiative Background Over the past three years, the processing of adoptions in Haiti have slowed to a crawl. Abandoned children are enduring adoption processes lasting two or three years before being united with … Continue reading →

August 12, 2009 Haitian Children & Families Initiative Dear Friends, Over the past three years, the processing of adoptions in Haiti have slowed to a crawl. Abandoned children are enduring adoption processes lasting two or three years before being united … Continue reading →

February 11, 2009 Joint Council is proud to present its Standards of Practice for Haiti. These Standards are designed for orphanages and Adoption Service Providers who demonstrate that they meet these highest standards of practice. The Standards can be found … Continue reading →

September 13, 2008 Madam Beaudin , the former director of IBESR, has been nominated to the position of new Minister of Social Affairs. She held the position of IBESR director since October of 2006.

August 6, 2008 Joint Council led a delegation to Haiti the week of July 28, 2008. During meetings with orphanage and crèche directors, IBESR, UNICEF, and U.S. Consular Offices, the Joint Council delegation advocated for implementation of a new child … Continue reading →

September 25, 2007 Joint Council is pleased to confirm that the U.S. Department of State Consular office in Haiti began processing visas as of late last week. It is our understanding that the issue related to Haitian court decrees has … Continue reading →

November 6, 2006 The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince has reported that Gabrielle Beaudin was appointed the director of the Haitian social services agency, “Institut du Bien Entre Social et de Recherches” (IBESR) on Tuesday, October 3. Prospective adoptive parents should … Continue reading →

March 11, 2005 The U.S. Department of State has issued the following travel warning for Haiti. This Travel Warning is being issued to warn U.S. citizens of the dangers of travel to Haiti due to the volatile security situation, even … Continue reading →

October 13, 2004 The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel warning for Haiti due to the unpredictable and dangerous security situation. U.S. citizens are encouraged to avoid non-emergency travel until the security situation stabilizes.

June 7, 2004 From the US Department of State: IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING ADOPTIONS IN HAITI The Department of State is aware that many American parents are in the process of adopting children from Haiti and are naturally concerned about the … Continue reading →

March 9, 2004 Notice from the U.S. Department of State, Office of Children’s Issues to Prospective Adoptive Parents Dear Parents: We are writing to inform you of the latest developments regarding adoptions in Haiti. Consular functions at the U.S. Embassy … Continue reading →

February 23, 2004 The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel warning for Haiti to inform American citizens that, due to continued political demonstrations and ongoing civil unrest, the Department of State has authorized the departure of family members … Continue reading →

January 30, 2004 The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel warning for Haiti to inform American citizens that, due to continued political demonstrations and ongoing civil unrest, the Department of State has authorized the departure of family members … Continue reading →

November 2003 Expert from the U.S. State Department: The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti has learned that one of the adoption agencies in Haiti, Precious in His Sight (PIHS), has ceased operations in Haiti. We are aware that adoptive parents … Continue reading →

September 2003 Haiti is one of the countries participating in the voluntary Adjudicate Orphan First pilot program through the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS).