As images of a devastated Haiti flood into the U.S., telephone calls are flooding into adoption agencies. But homes and families weren't the only things ruined by the earthquake, as KATU.com writers Susan Harding and Meghan Kalkstein reported in a Jan. 26 article:

Even before the earthquake, Haiti was considered one of the most challenging countries for adoption because of red tape and an unstable and corrupt government. ...

Adoption agency officials say people who are now flooding local agencies with calls may not have any idea what obstacles they'll encounter.

“No one right now is accepting applications for adoptions because of the collapse of the (Haitian) government," said Hollen Frazier of All God's Children International.

She said she believes it will be a year before Haiti will begin to allow adoptions again and then the wait may be up to three years.

"I would just encourage people to keep the orphan in their foresight with the understanding we have orphans throughout the entire world," she said.

Labels: haiti, international