Birthparent Interviews

*edited to clarify*
Although the quote below says "near the end of the adoption process" this is not true in our case. We opted to go through the Orphan First Pilot Program (mentioned in previous posts) which means that the interview is conducted early in the process in order to confirm the child's status prior to the adoption being finalized on the Haitian side. Just wanted to clarify before anyone (including myself) gets their hopes up too much! :)

From the Heartline Ministries blog, an explanation of the birthparent interview process:

There is a time near the end of the adoption process when if the child has a biological parent still alive, then that parent must be interviewed at the American Consulate. This is done to verify that the person claiming to be the birth parent, is indeed actually the birth parent and to verify that the child has willingly been relinquished for adoption. If there is doubt due to insufficient documentation or if the person being interviewed does not know the answers to questions such as:

· What is the birth name of the child?

· When and where was the child born?

· What are the names of your mother and father?

· When and where were you born?

the Consulate can then require that a DNA test be run on the child and the person claiming to be the birth parent.

Today is the day ... thank you for praying.