IBESR...

We're in (as of September 21st). This really only has significant meaning for those adopting from Haiti, but here's a brief explanation for friends and family who are unfamiliar with the process:

The Institut du Bien Etre Social et de Research (known as IBESR) is Haiti's Social Services Department. After going through "First Legalization" all the paperwork (the orphan's documents and adoptive family's dossier) is compiled and the file is then presented to IBESR where a social worker will look over the documents and decide whether to approve the adoption request. The director of IBESR, the IBESR lawyer, the head of adoption services at IBESR, and the IBESR social worker must all sign off on the dossier. We're told that this is taking 4-6 months right now. There have been times in the past, though, that it grinds to a halt and nothing happens at all. Please pray for a swift passage through this stage.

Even after IBESR, we have three other segments through which our file must travel: Parquet (not worth explaining right now), Second Legalization (civil court) and the Minister of Interior Affairs (MOI -Haitian immigration). Now study up... I might post a pop quiz on the steps involved in a Haitian adoption.

Yeah... he doesn't look too happy about a quiz, either.