Anatomy of a Dossier

A four year old getting fingerprints must mean there's an adoption going on!

(He didn't need fingerprinting, but wanted to do his part after watching us. The nice lady at the fingerprint shop ran him through the scanner just for fun. And can you believe there are fingerprint shops now? We had FBI clearance back in email before we made it home. Much different than going to the county jail, mailing them off, then waiting for a month or more for clearance.)

The past month has been spent on the part of the adoption process often called the paper chase. I was not looking forward to doing this again. Kind of dreading it actually, because it's time consuming and can be frustrating, where something as simple as a typo can cause delays and heartburn. Assembling a home study and dossier requires a massive mobilization of personal, professional, and governmental contacts. Doctors, bankers, employers, family, friends, counselors, local law enforcement, US Immigration, the FBI.  In our two previous chases it took 4-6 months to get everything together and approved. This time, it appears to be going faster and smoother, but we have not sent anything off for approval yet.

Dossier: (pronounced "doss-ee-ay") An international adoption dossier is a packet of official documents required by the laws of the country where the parents plan to adopt.

Home study: A screening of the home and life of prospective adoptive parents prior to allowing an adoption to take place. Usually an extensive written report prepared by a licensed social worker.

People have asked about the differences between Ethiopian and Haitian adoption requirements. The Haiti dossier is basically the same as the Ethiopian dossier with two major differences. Difference #1- Haiti requires a psychological evaluation of each adoptive parent as well as a letter of recommendation from the psychologist. This has been the only delay this time. It took time to get in to see someone, and since the counselor has never performed an adoption assessment before, he's trying figure out how best to write it up. Difference #2 - Every document must be notarized AND authenticated in the state where it was notarized. The Ethiopian dossier only required one document to be authenticated.

Haiti Dossier Checklist
Passport Copy Adoptive Father
Passport Copy Adoptive Mother
Attestation that passport is a true copy Adoptive Father

Attestation that passport is a true copy Adoptive Mother
Letter to the Director of IBESR
Birth Certificate Adoptive Father
Birth Certificate Adoptive Mother
Marriage License
Power of Attorney
Medical Evaluation Adoptive Father
Medical Evaluation Adoptive Mother
Letter from Employer Adoptive Father
Letter from Employer Adoptive Mother
Bank Letter
Homestudy
Psychological Evaluation Adoptive Father
Psychological Evaluation Adoptive Mother
Letter from Psychologist
Criminal Background Check Adoptive Father
Criminal Background Check Adoptive Mother
Letter of Recommendation #1
Letter of Recommendation #2
Copy of Immigration Approval

The home study requirements were essentially the same, but because our home study was two years old, we had to update a handful of things. When our social worker came to the house, it felt like having an old friend over. We've gotten to know each other well in the past 5 years. Bear was excited to see her again because he knows the part she played in his coming home story. He knows she helped us find him, and now she's helping us find baby brother/baby sister. He cried as she left the house because he thought she was going to drive us (in the Subaru) to Haiti that day. 

Here is a picture of my mom in Sacramento, getting 3 California documents authenticated for us. She is holding my birth certificate, our marriage license, and a beautiful letter of recommendation from my sister. A letter that makes me cry each time I read it. Mom and Dad drove the documents to the California Secretary of State's office, had them authenticated, then personally delivered them to us when they came to visit.

I have so many people to thank for helping us once again, and moving so quickly on our behalf. We are just waiting for the psych evaluation to be written, then everything will go to Madison for authentication. The home study update was submitted to AGCI for approval last week. It's possible that everything could be ready as early as next week. Keep your fingers crossed. Time to get this bus (Subaru?) moving.