Hawaii Adoption Services Merger
Posted on 03. Feb, 2010 by HIC Staff in General Adoption News, HIC Agency News
Dear HIC Ohana:
On January 22, 2010 Hawaii International Child Placement & Family Services and Child & Family Service Adoption Program entered into an affiliation agreement to combine business operations of their intercountry and domestic adoption programs. With this agreement, Hawaii International Child becomes a non-profit subsidiary under Child & Family Service and Child & Family Service Adoption Program is consolidated into Hawaii International Child. This consolidation makes Hawaii International Child the largest Hawaii-based adoption agency and will greatly increase the number of children who will find forever families.
For HIC families currently in-process, just starting, or who have already received children, the HIC experience and services will continue as usual. HIC will remain in the current offices, with the same contact numbers and the same hours of operation. All fees paid and paperwork processed will be honored. The addition of the CFS client base to our HIC Ohana will not slow down or jeopardize current client processes.
Lisa Barber will transfer over to Hawaii International Child and will continue to work in intercountry adoption at HIC. Lisa is now the HIC Senior Program Director and she can be reached at 589-2367 X204 or by email at Lisa@h-i-c.org.
Established in 1899, the Adoption Program of Child & Family Service is the oldest adoption program in the state and has previously arranged domestic and Korean adoptions. Currently, it arranges adoptions from China and the Philippines. Hawaii International Child currently arranges adoptions from The People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Africa.
Kristine Altwies, Executive Director & CEO of Hawaii International Child, will continue as the CEO of the Hawaii International Child subsidiary and HIC will retain its separate 501(c)(3) legal status under Child & Family Service as the parent company. Both organizations see this partnership as a win-win proposition in growing their array of services for placement of children in permanent homes and supporting adoptive families through the adoption process. Hawaii International Child has a solid reputation in the adoption field and Child & Family Service will benefit from the affiliation with an organization whose exclusive focus is on child placement services. Hawaii International Child will benefit from the outstanding reputation Child & Family Service has with over a century of caring for the Hawaiian Islands as well as the established infrastructure that Child & Family Service provides as a much larger organization.
In addition to the economies of scale and efficiency that will occur as a result of the affiliation, Child & Family Service and Hawaii International Child are excited to grow their efforts in finding loving and permanent homes for more orphaned children and providing children to parents who either cannot have children, or who would love to open their homes to a child from one of the countries that both agencies serve.
As always, we thank you for your continued support of adoption. Please be in touch if we can answer any additional questions.
With aloha,
Kristine Altwies, MA
Executive Director/CEO
