PWM Ministries > Adoption Advocacy
Our approach to orphan ministry recognizes that our ability to provide local care in orphanages has a limited scope. We can only care for so many children, as can the various private and public orphanages in Honduras. With the growing numbers of orphaned children in Honduras, a vibrant system of adoption is required. That is not what Honduras currently has in place. In a country where 65,000 children are expected to be orphaned in the next 5 years, Honduras averages between 25 and 100 total international adoptions per year. The laws and venues which govern international adoptions are simply too restrictive. We find that this is the case in many countries with soaring orphan populations. Therefore, part of our strategy for global orphan care concentrates on advocating for improved adoption legislation and processes, so that more orphaned children will find themselves in loving homes rather than on the streets.
Current Honduran Adoption Practice
There are government programs which facilitate the placement of orphans within Honduran homes, but they have had limited success in placing children, particularly those over one year of age, in caring homes. Under Honduran law, children become eligible for adoption in one of two ways: when they are "abandoned" or when they are "relinquished." “Abandoned” children are those children whose parents are unknown, cannot be found, or who have refused to care for their offspring. This group might include children left in a hospital, children who have been neglected or abused, and children whose parents have died. Such children are remanded to the custody of the Minors' Court, which normally places them in state orphanages. “Relinquishment” occurs when a parent voluntarily offers a child for adoption. Under the most recent adoption law, children must be relinquished to the Instituto Hondureño de la Niñes y la Familia (IHNFA) by the parent(s). The parent(s) must appear before a court to renounce all rights to the child.
The Children most likely to be adopted are healthy newborns. Children with disabilities or over the age of one are generally considered unadoptable and are likely to be kept in a state orphanage for the long-term. State-run Honduran orphanages are already at full capacity, and we anticipate that less than 10% of new orphans in Honduras in the coming years will be taken in by private orphanages. The relatively few domestic and international adoptions that occur, compared with the growing numbers of children in state-run institutions and on the streets, compel us to seek improved adoption systems and practices.
First Steps
We began advocating within the Honduran government for improved adoption practices in 2003. In particular, we sought a streamlined process for approving U.S. adoption agencies, improved relationships with the U.S. Embassy, and a general examination of Honduran adoption and orphan law. Honduras is one of the participating nations under the Hague Convention, but the law has yet to be ratified by a Honduran President. In June of 2004, we were able to participate in a meeting with high level officials from both Honduras and the United States. In attendance were two former Honduran Presidents, the Chief Justice of Honduras, the U.S. Ambassador to Honduras Larry Palmer and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Our partners in this effort included the CCAI (Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute) of Washington D.C.
As a result of this initial meeting and many others, PWM was able to assist in registering an adoption agency, America World Adoption Association, into the Honduran system. Aside from AWAA, there are presently 13 adoption agencies claiming to operate in Honduras. In actual fact, only one is registered; and it no longer even actively facilitates Honduran adoptions. We believe that the registration of such organizations as AWAA is critical to our long-term success in affecting the condition of thousands of Honduras orphans. By making such strides, large and small, Providence World Ministries hopes to gradually improve and expand adoption practices within nations with swelling orphan populations.
