( CNN ) -- There 's nothing like images of infants and children in distress to make outsiders yearn to help , which is why the unfolding story of Haiti 's orphans -- the most helpless of earthquake victims -- has kept people riveted . But what can be done and what should be the focus of attention and efforts remains a mystery to many Americans , who are flooding the phone lines of organizations , seeking to adopt these children -- immediately . The offer to open arms , hearts and homes is no doubt well-intentioned , but several leading aid organizations recently said new adoptions should stop and not be rushed . They want to protect children wrongly identified as orphans from being moved out of the country or falling victim to child traffickers . To help people understand what is and what can be , here are the facts as they stand right now : . Understanding the numbers . In 2007 , the United Nations Children 's Fund , or UNICEF , estimated that there were 380,000 orphans in Haiti . But -- emphasis on `` but '' -- that number is rough at best , said Christopher de Bono , a UNICEF spokesman . The oversight of children in the system has been lousy in Haiti , de Bono said , and parents -- burdened by hardships -- have been known to leave their children in orphanages on a temporary basis . So determining who was truly orphaned before the earthquake was next to impossible . Despite the large number of orphans , as of last summer , Haiti had only about 100 licensed orphanages and 67 crèches ( orphanages licensed to perform adoptions ) , according to the Haitian Adoption Authority , or IBESR . Orphanages generally have no more than 150 children , according to adoption officials in the United States . This means most kids described as orphans in Haiti have not been housed in licensed establishments . Add to this the recent chaos and inevitable loss of documentation , and nailing down an accurate number of orphans becomes even more difficult . Since the 7.0 earthquake struck two weeks ago , 497 Haitian orphans have been evacuated to the United States , according to Tuesday 's figure from a U.S. State Department official . These were children confirmed to be orphans and already far along in the adoption process with identified families waiting for them . In total , 500 orphans had been issued travel documents to go to the United States , said Kathleen Strottman , executive director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute , a Washington-based nonprofit organization that works to raise awareness about children worldwide in need of homes . Strottman estimates more than 900 orphans -- including more than 400 who do n't yet have travel documents -- were in the process of being adopted from Haiti and placed in American homes . The actual match between family and child , she says , happens early in the two- to three-year adoption process , which is why this limbo stage is so painful for families who cling to photos of a child they 've already grown to love . Should doors open to more children ? Late last week , three aid groups -- Save the Children , World Vision and a unit of the British Red Cross -- issued a joint statement , asking for an immediate halt to any new adoptions of Haitian children . The crux of their argument was that hasty adoptions could break up families that may still have a chance of coming together again . Rather than whisk these children off to a foreign land , which might create a new set of problems for already traumatized young ones , these organizations , as well as many advocates in the adoption field , said the children should be cared for where they are -- provided with food , shelter , clothing and medical care -- and given the chance to reunite with family members who may be frantically searching for them . It 's better to give to the organizations that are on the ground , looking out for the welfare of kids , they say . UNICEF released a statement last week echoing this stance and saying that efforts to register unaccompanied children are under way . `` Every effort will be made to reunite children with their families . Only if that proves impossible , and after proper screening has been carried out , should permanent alternatives like adoption be considered by the relevant authorities , '' said Ann Veneman , UNICEF 's executive director . `` Screening for international adoption for some Haitian children had been completed prior to the earthquake . Where this is the case , there are clear benefits to speeding up their travel to their new homes . '' Added to the concern for these children are fears of increased trafficking and sexual exploitation . Before the earthquake , UNICEF estimated that as many as 2,000 Haitian children were being trafficked annually to the Dominican Republic , which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti , often with the consent of parents . These worries , and the desire to rejoin children with their loving family members , are not lost on U.S. lawmakers who came out Tuesday in support of a more efficient adoption process for Haiti . No one wants to tear children from the waiting arms of family members , nor do they want to place kids in danger . But for those who are `` true orphans , '' Sen. Mary Landrieu , D-Louisiana , and other senators from both parties , are throwing their political weight behind the issue . They say it 's time to cut through the red tape that slows down the adoption process and drags it on for years -- for the sake of verified orphans living in Haiti , but also for those who span the globe and will still need loving homes after the media coverage surrounding Haiti 's earthquake dies down . These lawmakers are pushing this week to get the Families for Orphans Act out of a Senate committee and onto the floor for a vote . The bill would create an office in the State Department to specifically handle adoption issues and look out for the best interests of the world 's most vulnerable children . The stance of the Haitian authorities , though , appears unbending . `` The Haitian government is very clear on this , '' said Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lessgue , the communications minister . `` We are facilitating all of the adoption applications already submitted . Other than those , no child will be leaving the country for adoption . ''
Images of Haitian infants and children in distress keep world watching and worried . Calls from families hoping to adopt Haitian orphans flood phone lines . Aid agencies explain why hasty adoptions are dangerous and offer advice on how to help . U.S. lawmakers step in , trying to make adoptions more efficient .