Television shows like "Oprah" would have us believe that reunions between biological parents and the children they placed for adoption always end with happy tears of reconciliation. But a woman from New Jersey has ended her reunion with a lawsuit.

"According to the complaint, the woman ... received a letter from the Division of Youth and Family Services in August 2008 saying that an adopted adult was seeking information about her birth parents," the Philadelphia Daily News reported. "In the letter, DYFS asked her to confirm her identity and whether she wanted to pursue the matter."

A June 23 article on the AOL News website reported that "the Atlantic City woman, whose name is being withheld from the press, gave up her child after being raped. The lawsuit, filed June 18, claims she felt 'violated, in shock and short of breath,' after her biological child showed up at her home in December."

The woman assumed her lack of response would close the matter, but her adult daughter showed up on her doorstep four months later. This is a situation that highlights the continuing debate over allowing adoptees to access previously sealed information about their biological parents.

Labels: laws, reunions

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A British tribunal has ruled that Catholic adoption programs cannot refuse service to same-sex couples who wish to adopt. According to a June 3 article by Steve Doughty of the Daily Mail Online, some Catholic adoption agencies may close as a result of the decision:

Judges ruled in a test case that the charities, which find homes for hundreds of children each year, will be breaking the law if they refuse to accept same-sex couples as adoptive parents.

The ruling means some Catholic agencies face a choice between abandoning their adoption services or their religious principles. ...

Following the ruling a spokesman for the diocese said: 'As the charities cannot provide unrestricted services without being in breach of their obligations to act in accordance with the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church, it seems likely that the charities will need to close their adoption services and a flagship service of the charities will be lost.

In the United States, laws governing same-sex adoption adopt vary from state to state.

Labels: international, same-sex couples

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Jeffrey Dennings and his wife, Natalie, didn't become parents until 2006, when Jeffrey was 42 years old. In 2006, they adopted two boys, one of whom they met at the Kinship Adoption Festival in Southfield, Michigan.

"The event is sponsored by the Michigan Adoption Research Exchange and the Dave Thomas Foundation," the Flint Journal reported. "At the time [the Dennings] wanted a toddler. When they arrived, they learned that the older children in tie-dye shirts also were available. Thats where they met Ken, who was 8 at the time."

The Dennings family is now in the process of adopting two more boys, bothers who are 10 and 13. Jeffrey knows that some people call him crazy, but what others call "crazy" he calls "family."

Labels: adopted children, fathers, older_children

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A Wisconsin couple is in jail on abduction charges after it was discovered that they coerced a young woman into giving them her baby. The woman said she was approached by the couple while she was still pregnant, and was offered $3,000 for her child:

Bobbi Jo Dolski, 32, and her husband, Jason A. Dolski, 30, were arrested earlier this month on charges including abduction of another's child, unauthorized placement of adoption, false statement on a birth certificate and neglecting a child. ...

The couple has tried twice to get a child before their arrest. Four years ago, the couple was raising a child whose mother was addicted to drugs and later refused to give the child back. The biological mother later got custody. In 2008, the couple offered $3,000 to a woman to be a surrogate, but she declined. (Source: The Wausau Daily Herald)

The baby, now 14 months old, is in foster care.

Labels: crime

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The lawyer for pop singer Madonna appeared in front of the Malawi Supreme Court June 12 and was told that his client can proceed with her adoption plans. Madonna had been seeking to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James from an orphanage when a lower court ruled she had not be in the country long enough to adopt.

An article on the CBS News website reported that "Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo, reading the three-judge panel's ruling, said the singers commitment to helping disadvantaged children should have been taken into account when deciding on Madonna's request."

Children's welfare groups are still concerned about the matter, with many believing that bending the country's laws for Madonna will make poor and orphaned kids more vulnerable to traffickers. However, because this latest ruling was issued by the Malawi Supreme Court, it cannot be appealed or challenged.

Labels: international

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When Tricia Parrish invited a monk from Nepal to speak to a community organization about his orphanage, she had no plans of adopting one of the children. But she took one look at little Dolker and felt an immediate connection. The monk agreed to adoption request by Tricia and her husband, Philip Kaake, and Dolker flew to the United States to begin her new life.

But as Lucinda Ryan reported in an April 25 article in the Contra Costa Times, governmental red tape has intruded upon the family's hopes for a "happily ever after" ending to their international adoption experience:

The family needed to finalize the adoption earlier this year. The four of them packed their bags and went to Nepal, anticipating they would all return to the U.S. But Nepal's new government hasn't yet completed developing its adoption laws. Dolker had to be left behind.

"It's heart-breaking," Philip Kaake said.

Though the family hopes the attorneys and connections they have in Nepal will soon bring good news about the adoption and they can fly back to bring Dolker home, they have no knowledge of when that may happen.

In addition to enduring the emotional challenge of having to leave their adopted daughter in Nepal, the family is also dealing with a considerable financial burden. Ryan's April 25 article indicated that the Kaake and Parrish have already spent $21,000 in travel and adoption-related fees, and they estimate that getting their adopted daughter back will cost at least $15,000.

Labels: international, adoption_laws, Nepal

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The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would provide paid parental leave for up to four weeks for either the birth or adoption of a child.

A similar bill was also passed by the House last year, but died in the Senate. However, a June 9 article on the Government Executive website indicates that the Senate may be more likely to pass a parental leave bill this year:

Proponents of the current bill said the political climate in 2009 is more favorable to passage because of Democratic control of Congress, and a president who co-sponsored similar legislation as a senator. "It's going to really help our chances in the Senate," said Randy Erwin, legislative director for the National Federation of Federal Employees.

Though the bill is not yet on the Senate calendar, Government Executive writer Alex M. Parker reported that a companion bill has been put before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs federal workforce subcommittee.

Labels: adoptive parents, legislation

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In a May 15 article on the Advocate website, Julie Bolcer reported on an effort by Louisiana legislators to ban adoptions by gay and lesbian couples:

The Louisiana house voted overwhelmingly [May 12] to pass a bill that would prohibit the issuance of birth certificates that list the names of two unmarried parents who adopt a Louisiana-born child in another state.

The legislation, which passed by a vote of 77-18, stems from a December ruling in which U.S. district judge Jay Zainey sided with two California men seeking a joint birth certificate for the Shreveport-born child they adopted in New York in 2006.

Though the Louisiana effort is designed to outlaw adoption by gay adults, Bolcer notes that, as currently written, the legislation may not accomplish what its supporters intended.

"Single adults and married couples would qualify as adoptive parents, but unmarried couples would not, regardless of their sexual orientation," she wrote. "Presumably, single gay people could still adopt."

Labels: legislation, adoption rights, same-sex couples

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According to the June 5 edition of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, a Hollywood, Fla., restaurant will be hosting a museum-quality photo exhibition that is designed to help connect foster children with adoptive parents:

Photos of about 100 foster children in search of permanent homes will be on display [June 13] at Dave & Busters as part of a state effort to encourage adoptions.

The Children's Trust Miami Heart Gallery and Broward Heart Gallery, a museum quality traveling exhibit, will feature the kids' photos from 4 to 6 p.m. at the restaurant, 3000 Oakwood Blvd., Hollywood.

"These are the kids who are looking for families to adopt them," said Flora Beal of the state Department of Children & Families, the free event's sponsor. The exhibit also will provide profiles of the foster kids and take-home cards to be filled out by prospective parents.

The Sun Sentinel reported that parents who adopt children that are featured in this exhibit will receive assistance with adoption costs, free training, and financial help for the adopted children's college education.

Labels: adoptive parents, foster_care

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Tracey and Jim Hoehn have two adopted daughters, Lulu and Magaly, who were born in Guatemala. The adoption processes for both children were long and drawn out, as international adoptions often are.

But the Hoehns hit a unique snag with their second daughter, when the Guatemalan government ordered that international adoptions be stopped.

By August [2008], the Hoehns had completed the steps to adopt Magaly and had a U.S. passport for her, but the authorities were not going to let her leave Guatemala ... As legal guardians, the Hoehns were responsible for supporting Magaly and began paying for her care. ...

This March, the Hoehns brought their older daughter, almost 5, to the U.S. -- Source: The Dundalk (MD) Eagle

Though Tracey and Jim have their daughters, many adopting couples do not. About 900 adoptions were in process when the Guatemalan government ceased allowing international adoptions, and those families are still in limbo.

The Hoehns plan to participate in a June 17 march Washington, D.C., to bring attention to the situation.

Labels: international

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Overturned a lower court's ruling, the West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that an infant foster child should not be removed from the custody of a same-sex couple. The decision was the topic of a June 5 article by Tim Huber of the Associated Press:

In an unsigned opinion issued Friday, the court barred enforcing Fayette County Circuit Judge Paul Blake Jr.'s order that the girl should be taken away from Kathryn Kutil and Cheryl Hess. The girl has remained in the couple's custody throughout the court proceedings.

The court noted there was no reason to believe the girl wasn't thriving with Hess and Kutil, and said there was no legal reason to take her away from the couple.
Instead, the court said either Hess or Kutil, as qualified foster parents, "would at the very least need to be considered if not favored in the selection of the prospective adoptive home."

Born to a drug-addicted mother in December 2007, the infant had spent her entire life in the care of Kutil and Hess. But in November 2008, Circuit Judge Paul Blake ruled that the state's Department of Health and Human Resources could approve removing the infant from Kutil and Hess's care. The West Virginia Supreme Court was unanimous in its decision to overturn Blake's ruling.

Labels: same-sex couples, foster_care, court

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Adoption disclosure legislation that went into effect June 1 in Ontario, Canada, give thousands of adoptees the chance to learn about their biological family history. Under the new law, adoptees can apply for copies of adoption orders and birth registrations.

According to the Ministry of Community and Social Services, the result is adoptees will be more easily able to find out what their original names were, as well as who their birth parents were. It could also help birth parents learn the name their child was given after he or she was adopted. (Source: CBC News)

The new law will also give adoptees access to medical information that had been previously out of reach. Both adoptees and birth parents have the option of filing a disclosure veto if they want their information to remain sealed.

Many adoption advocates believe that learning more about their personal history can help adopted children deal with many adoption-related stresses and developmental issues.

Labels: adoption rights, adopted children, birth_parents

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An Oklahoma attorney has filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court that questions the constitutionality of court fees assessed during adoption proceedings. The suit, filed by attorney Jerry Fent, calls for the fees to be halted until a ruling is reached on the case.

Fent's lawsuit states that ... DHS [Department of Human Services] receives $20 for its adoption registry and confidential intermediary program as part of adoption fees charged by district court clerks. ... DHS has been receiving the fees for about 10 years and the Attorney General's Office for about two years, Fent said. (Source: The Tulsa World News)

Charlie Price, spokesman for the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, said it is too early to comment on the case.

Labels: laws, adoption costs

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