print 
email Update on Adoption of December 26 Tsunami Victims
The Department of State has received inquiries from American citizens concerned about the plight of the children affected by the tsunami that struck parts of South Asia and who are curious about the possibility of adopting children who have been orphaned by the disaster. The Department of State shares this humanitarian concern for the children of this tragedy and applauds American citizens' desire to assist them in their time of need. However, at this time, it is not possible for U.S. citizens to adopt these children, for several reasons.
The international standard in a crisis is to keep children as close to their surviving parents and family members as possible. It can be extremely difficult to determine whether children whose parents are missing are truly orphans while efforts to locate missing persons are still underway. This is especially true in the current situation, as many children have become separated from one or both of their parents. Even when children are indeed orphaned, they are often taken in by other relatives. Staying with relatives in extended family units is recognized as a generally better solution than uprooting the child completely.
The State Department believes that it will take many months before the situation in those countries affected by the tsunami stabilizes to the point where it will be possible to identify children who are legitimate orphans in need of intercountry adoption. It is only if and when these countries decide to make these orphans available for international adoption that American citizens will be able to begin adoption proceedings for these children.
Americans who wish to contribute financially or in other ways to ongoing relief efforts in response to the tsunami as a way of assisting the children of the countries affected may obtain further information at www.usaid.gov or from the Center for Disaster Information (CIDI) at 703-276-1914 ( http://www.cidi.org/ ).
Other Government Websites |
