Advocates: State Department weighing options for families in limbo over Haitian adoptions

State Department mulls options for Haiti adoptions

Adoption advocates say the State Department has assured them that the plight of families trying to adopt Haitian children is a priority following the earthquake that devastated the country.

Many families are worried that critical paperwork has been lost in the earthquake and that their adoptions might be halted.

Executive director Kathleen Strottman of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute says staffers from more than 30 congressional offices met Friday with the State Department and other agencies involved in foreign adoptions.

Strottman says that the State Department is considering what is an appropriate use of its authority to ensure the children are safe. Many families have been pushing for emergency visas that would allow the children to come to the United States.

Associated Press writer David Crary in New York contributed to this story.