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Far From the Fairytale: Broken Adoptions shatter promises to 66,000 kids in the US
Far From the Fairytale: Broken Adoptions shatter promises to 66,000 kids in the USThrough more than 100 interviews with adoptees, birth and adoptive parents, researchers and advocates, USA TODAY found breakdowns at every point in the process. In some cases, state and local government officials or private agencies approved parents for adoption despite warning signs. Some downplayed children’s medical, mental health and ABUSE histories or pushed hesitant parents to move forward with an adoption. Catherine LaBrenz, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington, said states are shirking their responsibility to address structural problems in the child welfare system, including those connected to broken adoptions. “If the state were a parent,” she said, “they’d be charged with child neglect.” Parents and children also struggled with a lack of support after adopting. He told USA TODAY his biological mother had grappled with drug addiction and couldn’t provide for him and his siblings. At 5, Napolitano moved into what would become his adoptive home. He was adopted at 10 – only to be removed three years later after he said he endured physical and emotional ABUSE. His adoptive mother, Gladys Johnson, told USA TODAY that Napolitano experienced “quite a bit of turmoil” before coming to her home and acted out from a young age, with his behavior becoming more intense after he met members of his biological family. She said she did not ABUSE her son and thought his removal would be temporary. “I love him very much,” she said. Napolitano said it was “trauma on top of trauma” when his adoption failed. In three states – Arizona, California and New Mexico – foster care adoptions account for more than 75% of all adoptions. As that landscape has shifted, experts said the government has a greater responsibility to provide support to ensure those adoptions are safe and successful. Foster children are more likely to have experienced trauma from neglect, or forced separation from their biological families. “A child who knows that they are not truly orphaned, it’s going to be a harder adjustment,” said Amanda Baden, a licensed psychologist in New York and professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey. “And a child who’s been through a lot of trauma, of course, is going to have some real adjustment.” The federal Children’s Bureau declined an interview request. Dinwoodie, who hosts a podcast called “Born in June, Raised in April” that explores family, identity and connection in adoption, said even the most successful adoptions begin with the loss of family. Children’s histories come with them, and the impact of trauma may reveal itself over time. “The hardest part of our human existence is encapsulated in adoption – mental health, issues of scarcity, ABUSE, neglect, racism, bias,” Dinwoodie said. “And yet the narrative of adoption is often: ‘Isn’t it great. Everybody’s better off now, and nothing more to see here.'” Amy VanTine flinched when she heard her 11-year-old adopted daughter’s rage-filled screams echo through the family’s home in Colorado. “It was such a visual of how I felt,” she told USA TODAY. VanTine and Bouchard adopted their daughter out of foster care in 2015, Colorado records show, although she had lived with them as a foster child for several years before that. USA TODAY agreed not to name the girl because she is still a minor and suffered neglect and at the hands of her biological family. VanTine said their daughter’s challenges became more acute over time. What started as difficulty sleeping and hoarding food became lying and threats to run away. It still wasn’t enough. VanTine said she herself suffered a mental breakdown in December 2016. VanTine started calling the Colorado Child and Neglect Hotline, saying their family was in crisis and needed help. She asked therapists, a pediatrician and a school official to call the hotline and report concerns for the family’s safety. Therapists recommended the girl receive treatment in an institution, records show. A child must live in a home for six months before the legal process to finalize an adoption can begin, she said, leaving workers less than a year and a half to find and vet prospective parents, set up visits, then start overnight stays before a child moves in. “You’re looking at the time just shrinking and shrinking and shrinking,” she said, “of how long you have to find the permanent family and have everything completed and finalized for that child before the state then enters the picture and says, ‘Well, what’s going on here? Concerns about the push to complete adoptions were echoed in a 2012 report from Washington state officials who examined state adoption laws and policies in the wake of a series of severe and neglect cases involving adopted children. In one, a 13-year-old girl died of hypothermia in her adoptive parents’ front yard after she had been forced to stay out there as punishment for “being rebellious,” according to the report. In another, sisters were sexually abused by their adoptive father. And in a third, a 13-year-old boy was starved, weighing just 49 pounds when he was taken to the emergency room. The report called it “particularly disturbing” that the ABUSE and neglect had occurred in homes that were scrutinized and approved by public or private agencies and finalized by the courts. “When the driving force behind permanency initiatives is numbers, rushed and inadequate placements, adoption disruptions, multiple moves and longer stays in care result,” officials wrote. Experts told USA TODAY adoptions may fail if parents haven’t dealt with their own histories and traumas, or if they are too rigid, unable to adapt. She said no one ever asked if she liked the family that planned to adopt her. Instead, after a few home visits and weekend stays, the adoption was finalized, only to fail less than three years later. Reid said she and her siblings suffered until another child in the home reported it to a teacher. Reid and her brothers returned to the foster care system; her brothers in one foster home, she in another. “And that again, I’m reminded that I’m not enough and I’m too much for everybody else and that my trauma isn’t something bad that happened to me, it’s something bad in me.” Though most states require disclosure of a child’s medical history, their rules around the release of other. information vary, according to a 2020 federal review of state statutes. Twenty-one states require that a child’s mental health history be disclosed, and just 11 states require that parents be informed whether a child suffered or neglect. “It’s this fear of ‘If I tell you what they have, you won’t want to adopt them,'” said attorney Nancie Williams, who represented a Virginia family who sued county child welfare officials, alleging they failed to disclose their adoptive son’s sexual ABUSE history. That boy was later criminally charged after admitting he sexually abused other children in the home, according to the lawsuit. Indiana residents Barry and Tammy Martin told USA TODAY they were not fully informed about the backgrounds of two of the three children they adopted from China. Chinese Children Adoption International, a Colorado-based agency, told the Martins that one boy had hydrocephalus – fluid in the brain – and cerebral palsy. But in a lawsuit against the agency, the Martins claimed they were not told he’d had a brain tumor and surgery. After the adoption, the Martins said they faced unexpected additional medical costs. That same agency also told the Martins a second boy was 12 when he was at least three years older, the family said. The boy said officials in China instructed him to lie about his age, mental health records show. In those records, that son also said he had been a VICTIM of sex trafficking while living in China. The Martins said they learned of his history only after he raped his younger brothers, according to their lawsuit. The teen later admitted in court to battery. But can we do better? Yeah, absolutely.”
Marisa Kwiatkowski and Aleszu Bajak – May, 19, 2022
Download View in BrowserThe Foundation for Global Sports Development delivers and supports initiatives that promote fair play, education, and the benefits of abuse-free sport for youth.
White Law PLLC was founded to provide more personalized representation to clients facing legal dilemmas. Whether you have an issue that is complex or relatively straightforward, any legal matter can have a significant impact on your life. Our team of experienced lawyers based in Okemos, Michigan, strive to deliver outstanding legal services that exceed your expectations. We utilize our extensive legal knowledge and the latest in technology to bring you effective and proven solutions to your legal issues.