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Photo Essay: An Inside Look at CCAI’s 20/20 Vision Delegation to Haiti
CCAI’s 20/20 Vision Program is a public-private partnership delegation model designed to educate Members of Congress, build relationships, increase positive dialogue and improve adoption and child welfare policy and practice around the globe.
CCAI’s most recent 20/20 Vision delegation was a follow up to our 20/20 Vision Program delegation to Haiti in August of 2014. Our goal was to gather on-the-ground knowledge about the needs of children in Haiti who are living outside of the care of families, as well as the solutions offered through programs, systems, law and policy that support placement and care of these children in families. The delegation plans to brainstorm ways to strengthen U.S. foreign policy for vulnerable children and families upon returning to the United States. Take a look at some of the highlights!
Congressional Coalition on Adoption co-chair, U.S. Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ), warmly greets a sibling group who has been reunified with their parents after spending time in an orphanage at a site visit in Haiti.The delegation met with Bethany Global and learned about their foster care program in Haiti.Dr. Dana Johnson, a University of Minnesota Health neonatologist and founder of the University of Minnesota Health Adoption Medicine Clinic sharing his reflections on site visits to help the delegation understand the effects of children languishing in orphanages.Representing the CCAI Board of Directors on the delegation was Susan Neely, CEO of the American Beverage Association.Members of CCAI’s 20/20 Vision Delegation visiting with children who were recently reunified with their loving families. These children and families, with the support of their social workers at the Lumos Foundation, bravely shared their personal experiences with institutions to educate the delegates on paths into and out of orphanages.CCAI Executive Director, Becky Weichhand, Restavek Freedom Executive Director Joan Conn and Assistant Secretary of State Michele Bond shared a moment at a site visit.The delegation is briefed by a staff member at an orphanage, who shares the stories of several children in the care of the institution.A lone toy sits atop one child’s bunk bed in one of the institutions the delegation visited.The 20/20 Vision delegates met with Arielle Jeanty Villedrouin, Director of the Institut du BienEtre Social et de Recherches (IBSER) – Haiti’s child protection and permanency authority, to learn about current opportunities and gaps in the continuum of family care options for children. Site visits throughout the trip provided insight into the full continuum of care for children in Haiti, including reunification efforts, Haiti’s new foster care strategy and domestic and intercountry adoptions.U.S. Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) and U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt (R-AL) learning about the health condition of a child in need of a surgery at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. (Photo shared with permission.) Dr. Johnson explained to the delegation how most institutions worldwide house a high percentage of children with medical needs.The U.S. Embassy staff host a reception with the delegation and representatives of Haiti’s child welfare community. Pictured here, left to right: U.S. Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ); Assistant Secretary of State Michele Bond; Minister of Social Affairs, Jean Rene Antoine Nicolas; CCAI Executive Director, Becky Weichhand; Charge d’Affaires, Brian Shukan; U.S.Representative Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and U.S. Embassy Consular General, Bob Hannan. The delegation was deeply impressed with the kindness and dedication of the U.S. Embassy staff throughout our visit.A caregiver and a child recovering from surgery at a strategic orphanage visit.The CCAI 20/20 Vision Delegation, reunited families, foster families, youth and the Lumos Foundation’s Haitian staff after a strategic sharing session with these resilient families. (Photo taken with permission and at the request of the families.)The delegation met with UNICEF’s Country Director, Marc Vincent, to learn about UNICEF’s programs, priorities and investments in Haiti, including a foster care program. The group was also briefed by the U.S. Embassy and U.S.AID staff on U.S. foreign assistance and U.S.AID programming related to vulnerable children.The delegation toured the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM), a small group of law enforcement officers that works to protect children in conjunction with the Haitian Police Department and IBESR. The BPM tour included cases resolved through their casework and child protection database, in partnership with Restavek Freedom Foundation. The dedication of the BPM staff was profound, yet they face serious resource gaps as they work to protect Haiti’s most vulnerable children.CCAI was honored to be joined by three dedicated public servants during the delegation. Left to right: U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Assistant Secretary of State Michele Bond and U.S. Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ).
To learn more or engage with CCAI in our international child welfare advocacy, please contact info@ccainstitute.org and sign up for our listserv.
Photo Credit: Keziah Jean Photography, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to raising awareness about the millions of children around the world in need of permanent, safe, and loving homes and to eliminating the barriers that hinder these children from realizing their basic right of a family.
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One thought on “Photo Essay: An Inside Look at CCAI’s 20/20 Vision Delegation to Haiti”
Thank you for a wonderful synopsis of this very successful delegation; I am so glad all went well!
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute 
Thank you for a wonderful synopsis of this very successful delegation; I am so glad all went well!