Probably the most common question we have received during our Haitian adoption is, “Why does it take so long?”

I recently received the comment from Thomasina:

Wendy,

I'm following your story with great interest. Somehow, though, I missed the part where you talk about why the government of Haiti (or whoever) is drawing this process out for you and your children. Why can't you go and get them? Please link me to your blog entry where you explain. Sorry for my naiveté about such things and best of luck to you!

After reading her comment, I realized that there may be many of you who do not understand why it can take so long to adopt from Haiti. I have to admit that I do not entirely understand it myself. But let me share a little of what I have heard or been told.

Once your paperwork reaches your agency’s Haitian staff (or if you are adopting independently, your Haitian lawyer), it is prepared to enter the various offices of government in Haiti. After it exits each step in the process, it is again prepared to enter yet another step (and they frequently add, change, or remove steps in the process). There are many stages to complete a Haitian adoption, including complying with your own country’s requirements and steps.

The major hang-up seems to be the people in charge of each step. Historically, the offices, agencies, courts, etc. have often been headed by corrupt or unhelpful individuals. These people have chosen to sit on adoption files for an undetermined amount of time, for whatever reason they so choose.

Several years ago, IBESR was headed by a Madame Bony, who was found trying to leave Haiti with an alleged million dollars in the trunk of her car. After Mdm. Bony came Mr. Cadet. I have heard that his reason for not signing adoption files out of IBESR was because he felt orphanages were getting rich off of doing adoptions.

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