Arizona has a new adoption law, thanks primarily to the tenacity of two women who challenged the state's definition of family. Dawn Hurtt welcomed Angel into her home when Angel's foster care home didn't work out. Though Dawn and her husband wanted to adopt Angel, state law at the time prohibited adoption of anyone older than 18, so a Probate Court judge denied their adoption request.

"Attorney Kathleen Mucerino suggested they could appeal. But Dawn didn't have the patience. 'I said, "I'm not going to wait,"' [Hurtt] recalled. Instead, she followed Mucerino's other course of action and threw herself into getting the law changed."

Hurtt's situation caught the attention of Sen. Richard Miranda, D-Phoenix, and he drafted a new bill within a week. The state's governor, Janet Napolitano, signed the bill into law earlier this month. Source: The Arizona Republic

Labels: laws, foster_care

Posted By: Aspen Education Group