Roman Catholic leaders in Miami on Tuesday applauded the federal government's announcement that it will bring hundreds of Haitian children already orphaned before the deadly earthquake to the United States as soon as possible.
The plan, unveiled by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, was greeted by some as the first step in opening the door to the countless other youngsters in Haiti left without homes or parents since last week's disaster.
"We'll take any child that needs a place to sleep and to live. We will do that. And we know we're not the only organization," said Mary Ross Agosta, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Miami.
Catholic Charities' offer to temporarily house and clothe Haitian orphans until they can be adopted or reunited with surviving relatives has created a groundswell of support, as well as logistical confusion, and inevitably resulted in comparisons with the church's 1960s "Pedro Pan" airlift of 14,000 children out of Cuba.
"You always have to look out for children," Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday, lending his support to talk of evacuating children from the sorrowful conditions in Haiti.
Yet, at the same time, Florida child welfare officials sought to quell speculation about a mass "influx of orphans" into the state.
"That's just not going to happen anytime soon, if at all," said Mark Riordan, Department of Children & Families spokesman in Broward County. "All the proper authorities and agencies have been in contact with one another on the subject. But there is no plan to roll out, at this point, to accept or even begin processing large numbers of orphan Haitian children to bring here for adoption."
But clearly, some children are coming. Local and national media have captured heart-wrenching pictures of Haitian children wrapped in blankets and being carried off planes to new lives in the United States. Among them: the governor of Pennsylvania stepping off an Air Force jet in Pittsburgh with 53 tots gathered from a badly damaged Haitian orphanage.
How many more are en route?
Homeland Security said it estimates fewer than 1,000 young Haitians will qualify under its newly announced plan, which applies only to children legally available for adoption prior to the Jan. 12 quake. Some have already been matched with new parents. The State Department put the number closer to 500.
Catholic officials couldn't say how many Haitians it estimates were orphaned after the quake. "We don't know," Agosta said. "Who can tell us even how many people are dead or missing?"
But church leaders say the need is great and immediate. And so they're talking with federal officials, the Haitian government and other agencies about how best to care for children who now have nothing and no one.
Agosta said the Miami Archdiocese can temporarily house children in church facilities that can be converted into "child-friendly residential situations" with clean beds, clean clothes and people to look after them. The children could stay until they are adopted or reunited with relatives located here or in Haiti.
Families across the United States have already contacted the archdiocese offering to help. "I was on MSNBC this morning and 20 minutes after I was off the air I had over 100 e-mails from people saying we can open up our homes," Agosta said.
But locally, other child welfare providers say they know of no specific plans as of yet.
"We're really unclear, at this point, if the kids are coming here, what would be needed," said Sasheika Eugent, spokeswoman for ChildNet, which provides foster and adoptive care services in Broward County.
"Right now, reunification with families is the ongoing theme of everything we're doing," said Chris Bentley, spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/fl-haiti-orphans-airlift-0119-20100119,0,5392361,full.story
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