THE HERITAGE FAMILY REUNION WAS A HUGE SUCCESS ON 29 JULY 2001!

Each year, we organize a huge get-together of Heritage families, both domestic and international. It's a great opportunity for anyone considering working with Heritage to meet us and talk with families who know our style and excellence of service. It's great for our family members to get together, reminisce and in some cases, to be with some of the children that came from the same orphanage!

This year, our picnic was held on July 29, as usual, in Washington Park at "The Elephant House" - Families were asked to bring their own picnics. Fizzy beverages and balloons were provided. Our turnout was fabulous, with over 70 families attendingóname tags were a necessity due to the fact the kids are growing like weeds!  Mark either late July or the beginning of August 2002 for the next reunion.  We'd love to see you there!

A NEW PROGRAM IN HAITI

We are very happy to announce that we have added a new program of adoption from the little country of Haiti. Recently we met with Dr. and Mrs. Bernard, missionaries who have worked very hard to establish an excellent, loving orphanage for some of the children in Haiti. The children range in age from under 4 months on up. There are some sibling groups available. We were shown photos of these beautiful children—enough to melt anyone's heart! You may have seen Channel 8's Emmy-nominated show highlighting a Juntura, Oregon family who have adopted through the Bernards.

The children are available for adoption mainly because of the abject poverty of their parents and the country as a whole. The parents sign relinquishment of their parental rights and the children become "legal orphans". They are thoroughly screened medically and tested for diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis B, TB, and sickle cell anemia. Social histories are also available for each child. Poor nourishment seems to be the biggest problem.

The adoption process is relatively short (4-8 months including clearance from Immigration, assembling necessary documentation for the adoption and actual adoption in Haiti). Dr. Bernard also provides an escort service for families that are unable to travel to Haiti to bring their child(ren) home. The children can be brought to Miami or to the adopting parents' own city.

The cost of these adoptions is approximately ten to eleven thousand dollars, plus travel.

THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE

We continue with our programs in China and Guatemala. We have been in this business long enough now that we have established a fine track record for families traveling to both countries. Over and over again, we hear from families how smoothly the adoption finalization went with public officials and at the Consulate/Embassy. We are told stories about families working with other agencies suffering through unnecessary delays due to incomplete paperwork or misdirection of how to complete the process.

CHINA seems to have bogged down in the referral process, I'm sure largely due to the huge number of adoptions they are processing each year (over 5,000!). Our families are now experiencing a twelve month wait for the receipt of their referrals and then having to wait another 4 - 8 weeks for travel. The requirements and costs seem to be about the same as they have been over the past couple of years. Still, every month or two we are sending groups of families to China to receive their little girls, and we can literally place as many children as we have eligible families.

It is very hard not to get caught up in worry about getting a referral, and thanks to the Internet, feeling somewhat competitive about how long it takes to get referrals. One tends to forget the end result—ah yes, that wonderful, special child put on earth just for you! Every family, after it is over, says "She was worth the wait!"

GUATEMALA is a steady referral resource for us. Lately we have been inundated with requests for girls, which means everything slows down considerably. The temptation is great to work with new attorneys. There are several reputable attorneys to work with, but their fees have escalated to what seem astronomical figures--$18-25,000! At this time we do not wish to capitulate to this level of expense for our families, feeling that these fees are disproportionately elevated and take unfair advantage of adoptive parents.

CITIZENSHIP NEWS For all of you (both parents in a two-parent family) who actually physically saw your child(ren) prior to the actual adoption in the foreign country, your child now is automatically a citizen of the U.S. This is the case for all persons who adopted from China, if both parents went to get their child. Apply for a US passport for your child and your citizenship adventure is over! Once you have the passport, contact Social Security and be certain they have your child listed as a U.S. citizen. This is NOT the case for adoptions from Guatemala since very few parents actually visit their child prior to adoption finalization in Guatemala.

For those of you who did not see your child prior to the final adoption in the foreign country you must re-adopt your child in a U.S. court prior to getting a passport. Once this is done, you may pick up a passport application and send it in along with the new birth certificate and translated adoption documents. When you have the U.S. passport, contact Social Security and let them know your child is now a citizen.

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