Adoption From Foster Care

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Should Gay Couples Be Allowed To Adopt?

Should gay couples be allowed to adopt a child from foster care?

For some in Congress, the answer is no. Two congressional Republicans have introduced the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, which is aimed as an effort to protect adoption and foster care providers from an “anti-faith bias.”

should gay couples be allowed to adoptBut according to critics, the bill, which was introduced to Congress in late July, is really aimed at nullifying “state-level laws that require child welfare agencies to let gay couples adopt children.” Continue reading →

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When a Forever Home Isn’t Forever: The Reality of Adoption Dissolution

adoption dissolutionPicture this: You see a photograph of an adorable child in need of a loving and caring home. As you look into his eyes, you want nothing more than to see him happy and to be a part of making that happen. You take all of the necessary steps (home study, training, etc.) to become a foster adoptive parent and you gain access to more information. Once all of the proper steps have been taken, you finally meet him. You instantly fall in love and proceed with everything needed to begin the adoption process. The child is now in his new home, and after a few months you begin to notice things that were not as obvious as before. Not too long after that, you begin to realize that you may have made the wrong decision in bringing him into your home. It can be heartbreaking, to say the least. While it is a harsh reality, it’s a reality that more than a few homes have to face – and it is worth addressing. Continue reading →

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Open Adoption Records Bill Signed Into Law in NJ

Open Adoption Records Law in NJ Seeks to Protect Both Adopted Children and Birth Parents

Open Adoption Records

Photo by Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen

In the United States, adoption is looked at very differently today than it was in previous years. Instead of being veiled in secrecy, more and more adoptions now take place as open adoptions. Childwelfare.gov defines open adoptions as a form of adoption that allows birth parents to know and have contact with the adoptive parents and the adopted child.For those adopted prior to this trend, a court order is needed in order to see one’s own birth certificate in most states.

On May 27, 2014, New Jersey joined the list of states that allows adoptees unrestricted access to their birth records. As reported by the Associated Press, open adoption records are also allowed in Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee. Continue reading →

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Same Sex Couple Adoption Case Appealed

Same sex couple adoption is a much-talked about subject, but nurses’ case was born from caring, not controversy.

same sex couple adoptionImagine raising children as a loving couple, providing them with a safe and stable home and yet being unable to make legal decisions regarding their futures, including with whom they would live in the wake of an emergency and what medical care they would receive. In Michigan, unmarried couples are forbidden from jointly adopting children. Since same sex marriage is also forbidden, as pointed out on michiganmarraigechallenge.com, “children of gays and lesbians in Michigan are forbidden from having two legal parents.”

Michigan’s Adoption Code is now being challenged on the grounds that it is unconstitutional by Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer. The couple, who has been together for more than a decade. are raising three children together. As infants, the children were abandoned  in the hospital where Rowse and DeBoer both work as nurses. Currently, DeBoer is the adoptive parent of two of the three children; Rowse is the adoptive parent of one. The couple, who are also licensed foster parents, want to jointly adopt their kids. Continue reading →

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Re-homing: One Word, Many Challenges

How and Why Re-Homing Began

re-homing

Photo by Gabriella Fabbri

Re-homing or re-homed are new words for many individuals. A simplified definition of re-homing is utilizing the internet to pass off adopted children to someone else. Many times this is done callously. Sometimes this is done across state lines. Too many times this is done with no official research about the receiving individuals. This is not a happy story, but it is one that needs broader attention. Continue reading →

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Child Specific Adoption from Foster Care

Do you believe in love at first sight?  Many people do. In fact, in a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll on CBS.com in January 2013, 56% of Americans said they believed. Some may have their doubts, but those who have experienced love at first sight say for certain that it’s real.

Child Specific Adoption from Foster CareNot everyone who falls in love at first sight does it romantically. Parents telling the story of the first time they saw their child often describe their depth of emotion in much the same way as someone might describe the first time they saw their significant other: an overwhelming feeling of destiny or that they would do anything to be with that person and keep them safe from harm.

Foster parents who experience these emotions for a child placed in their home may have a difficult road ahead of them, since the goal of fostering is not adoption but giving children safe and stable places to call home until they can be safely reunited with their parents. However, in some cases, reunification can’t occur, and these children become free for adoption. Continue reading →