Social Services

Adoption – Our Mission

EVERY CHILD DESERVES A HOME

Foundation Enfant Jesus believes that every child deserves to be in a loving family setting where there is/are one or two parents that will provide care, nurturing, and security within a family setting which will enable a child or children to thrive in. The children that are admitted to our crèche have had a very difficult beginning. We consider our crèche setting to be the bridge for each child to have access to a new start from their challenging beginning to a new journey of well-being and self actualization.

The mission of Crèche Enfant Jesus is an ongoing process that designs, builds and operates a crèche (orphanage) on two secured sites. Crèche Enfant Jesus adoption program aims to look for devoted families for children, not children for families. Foundation Enfant Jesus is dedicated to improving and saving the lives of Haitian children in need. We believe each child deserves a loving family; one in which the child can call their own. We want each child to understand that they are valued and worth being loved and nurtured. We love these children and know they have great purpose and potential in life.

The Crèche is not a substitute for the love and stability that parents can provide. Ultimately, each of these children deserves to belong to a family that cherishes them. We love and care for each child until you can bring him/her home. We will always love each child that has come into the Crèche Enfant Jesus; then we pass that child with love on to a family where they can be cherished forever. We know God will bless every parent with the love and abilities that they may need in order to raise their son or daughter with hope.

Our Vision

Our vision is to provide a hopeful future to scores of abandoned and orphaned children in Haiti. While we care for their physical needs and security, we will also see that each child receives individual love and attention. Ideally, we hope to place these children in good, loving homes through partnerships with international accredited adoption agencies. For those children who are not fortunate enough to be adopted, we will provide love, character development, education and opportunities to learn valuable skills that will allow that child to eventually be self-sufficient and ready to make a contribution to the Haitian society and culture. Our focus on educational and skill development extends beyond the crèche as we continue to contribute to the local community.
Our philosophy is:

“Each child is an ambassador for Haiti”

Our Children’s Program

Our children are provided with a stable environment that includes a particular routine, balanced meals and fulfilling activities that allow the children to feel loved and safe.

Our staff includes a multi-disciplinary group of professionals employed to address the children’s individual and collective needs.

Our facilities

We have two crèche sites that are currently housing children who have been orphaned or abandoned. Our créches are located in two remote rural villages called Lamardelle and Obléon (Kenscoff). The facilities are spacious, comfortably housing many children, and provides them with needed care and other services through our established medical program and nutrition center. The facilities have recreational areas for toddlers as well as older children. We have also established an area of ground specifically for cultivating nutritious products and raising small farm animals for consumption.

In addition to the continued building and operating of the crèche, Foundation Enfant Jesus continues to work on making contributions to the developmental improvement of the surrounding village.

The crèches sites are staffed mainly by caregivers who are hired and trained locally. Much of the labor to build and maintain the complex comes from the villages, providing jobs and new skills to the villagers. In addition, we have established an organization of volunteers composed of caregivers, medical doctors, and occasionally technicians who assist in providing physical, social, emotional and recreational care to these children.

Adoption Outline for Crèche Enfant Jésus

Crèche Enfant Jesus provides care for newborns, infants and children from the ages of birth to six years. These children are provided with international standards of care and quality of life. Foundation Enfant Jesus has in place a multidisciplinary staff that admits each child to the crèche. After the legal time frame and review of each child life plan, the child is placed for adoption within caring families from the United States, Europe or Canada.

The children are accepted into the crèche within the following categories:

  1. An abandoned child.
  2. An orphaned child of one or both parents.
  3. A child whose family is in extreme need and who is seeking to have their child placed for adoption because they cannot provide the basics for them.
  4. HIV and special needs children.

N.B. All the categories mentioned above must be approved by the Social Welfare Department (IBESR) in order to be accepted by the Crèche. They must also be accompanied by all the requested documents from the Minister of Social Welfare.

The adoptive parents must meet the requirements outlined by Haitian laws, as well as international adoption laws within their own country. A child will be matched to an adoptive parent once the following criteria have been met:

  • The Adoption Accredited Agency must send the completed Home Study to our designated staff. (See list of Foundation Enfant Jesus Adoption Accredited Agency partners.)
  • Within 1 month, our staff will review the Home Study and then, if approved, link a child with the adoptive parent(s), depending on the list of availability.
  • Once a child has been matched to the adoptive parent(s), we will send to the parent(s) the laboratory results, social history, birth certificate, psychological evaluation, and a certificate (see sample) introducing them to the Crèche Enfant Jesus and our commitment to accompanying them and their child through the adoption process. At this point, it is requested that the adoptive parent(s) will sponsor the care of their matched child via the adoption fees until all adoption procedures are completed. If there is a major need for the child to have surgery or hospitalization, it will be considered as an additional fee.

Things to know about how we proceed with each adoption at Crèche Enfant Jesus

  • A monthly report on the child will be sent to the parents on the first week of each month. This will include an update on where we are in the adoption process. You will also be given a medical and psycho-social-motor development report including any particular progress your child has achieved during the month. A new picture of the child will also be sent on a monthly basis.
  • We encourage parents to visit, to send their pictures, family album, and to write to their child(ren). This allows our staff to prepare the child(ren) to leave the safe haven of the crèche and be ready to go home to their loving family.
  • Biological parents have the right to visit their child(ren) once a month until the child(ren) departs from Haiti.
  • Once the adoption process is complete, Crèche Enfant Jesus encourages the adoptive parents to travel to Haiti and to spend at least one week to facilitate the transition of the child in his/her actual environment.
  • Upon the departure of the child(ren) from Haiti, we encourage that the biological parent(s) and the adoptive parent(s) meet and take pictures with the child(ren) with the supervision of Foundation Enfant Jesus designated staff present.
  • Follow-up on how the child(ren) are adapting to their new home is a requirement of the Minister of Welfare in Haiti and the policy of the Board of Directors of Foundation Enfant Jésus. Follow-up reports and special events to meet families and the children in their respective countries are mandatory. (See post-adoption protocol.)