Washington ( CNN ) -- The U.S. government announced Monday that it has eased the requirements for orphaned children from Haiti to enter the United States on a temporary basis . The move is being made to ensure they get needed care after last week 's earthquake in Haiti , said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano , who made the announcement in coordination with the U.S. Department of State . `` We are committed to doing everything we can to help reunite families in Haiti during this very difficult time , '' said Napolitano in a news release . `` While we remain focused on family reunification in Haiti , authorizing the use of humanitarian parole for orphans who are eligible for adoption in the United States will allow them to receive the care they need here . '' Napolitano can grant humanitarian parole into the United States to bring otherwise inadmissible individuals into the country for urgent humanitarian reasons or other emergencies . The State Department said earlier Monday it is working with DHS and the Haitian government to process nearly 300 cases of Americans who are waiting to adopt Haitian children . Of those , 200 cases are being accelerated . Twenty-four of those children , whose cases `` were at the very end of the process '' before the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti nearly a week ago , have departed Haiti and joined their new families after the embassy expedited processing for immigrant visas , said Michele Bond , deputy assistant secretary for American citizen services . Department officials said Sunday that 150 children had already left Haiti , but corrected that number Monday . Officials are reviewing every case individually to see where they are in the process , what actions have been taken in the case and whether the case can be accelerated , Bond said . The department said it will be announcing an adoption plan with travel specifics shortly . If an American adoption case was early in the process , there is no guarantee of an accelerated adoption , Bond said . Examples of being early in the process would be if prospective parents have not been properly vetted ; have not been matched with a specific child ; or have been matched with a child but the Haitian government is still attempting to prove absolutely the child is an orphan . The State Department is working with DHS to examine the documents in each case and show some flexibility , but this also requires the agreement of the Haitian government , she said . `` It 's important to remember that the best interests of the child are at the heart of all this , '' Bond said . `` We want them to be well cared-for . '' Families with active adoption cases will be contacted by the department , she said . If a family is in the process of adopting from Haiti and wants information , family members can send an e-mail to askci @ state.gov . They will be contacted and told what documents are needed , she said . Prospective families need to know , however , that officials are getting thousands of inquiries . On Sunday , the department received 300 inquiries related to 16 cases , she said . So multiple calls may not be the most efficient way for prospective families to get news about their child . Are you in Haiti and safe ? Share your story , photos with CNN iReport . Before last Tuesday 's quake , Haiti was home to about 380,000 orphans , according to the United Nations Children 's Fund . Many of them may be homeless now , since a number of orphanages are reported to have been among the buildings that were destroyed in the earthquake . The family status of many children may not yet be known , so adoption is not the first solution , Bond said . The focus is on getting the children aid and reuniting them with their families , she said . That total is expected to grow once the dead and missing from last Tuesday 's disaster have been accounted for . Some children who lost parents in the quake or were separated from parents are being relocated to the Dominican Republic , a child advocacy group said . iReport : Haitians are looking for loved ones . About 50 orphaned and abandoned children will arrive in the border town of Jimani on Wednesday , Kids Alive International said . The efforts , coordinated with the governments of both countries , will eventually take the children back to Haiti . Some will be reunited with parents who lost communication with their children in the quake 's aftermath , the group said . The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has chartered a plane to pick up about 100 children Monday , spokesman Aad Meijer said Sunday . Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin over the weekend granted the children entry into the country , although their paperwork , including travel and adoption documents , was incomplete , Justice Ministry spokesman Patrick Mikkelsen said . About 44 of the orphans ' adoptions had yet to be approved by a Haitian judge , even though they were matched to Dutch parents , Mikkelsen said . Dutch officials may seek the remaining approvals from Haiti once the children have already settled in the Netherlands , he said . CNN 's Melissa Gray , Richard Greene and Elise Labott contributed to this report .
U.S. authorizing `` humanitarian parole '' for eligible orphans , says Department of Homeland chief . 200 adoption cases are being accelerated in wake of last week 's quake . Score: 6 Focus in Haiti remains on getting children aid , reuniting them with their families .