AboutPeter C. Winkler, CSW Expertise I have experience with adoption subsidy, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children and variety of other adoption related matters. I hope that I can be helpful to those who are considering adoption or would like to adopt a child.
Experience I am a social worker with an MSW and I have over thirty years of experience in family and children's services. I have worked as Director of adoption services and of the Interstate Compact in a large state agency. I have also provided direct services to children and families in a preventive services program. I currently prepare adoption studies for those who are adopting domestically or internationally.
Expert: Peter C. Winkler, CSW Date: 1/24/2008 Subject: Adopting a child current under guardianship
Question I recently accepted guardianship of a child because DHS became involved and removed the child from his home. His parents have shown little progress (virtually none - mostly hostility), and DHS had indicated that parental rights would be terminated very soon if nothing changed. DHS and lawyers for the children and parents agreed that a solution to this situation would be for me to accept guardianship of the children from the parents - thereby avoiding the child being taken by strangers outside control of the family.
Fast forward only mere weeks, and the parents have left state and completely removed themselves from the picture. They have indicated that they have all but given up on regaining their child due to their "inability" (unwillingness?) to comply with the simple parenting requirements (should I mention that they have already abandoned another child with someone else, and that child has not seen them in years?). In addition, my income is too high to qualify for support for child (parents refuse to pay any support), or medical assistance - my work place will not provide medical since the child is not "mine". The expense of raising the child is not terrible now, but childcare will soon eat away at every spare dollar - and medical bills related to the abuse, etc. will definitely be a burden that I'm not sure I can afford. I'm feeling like I have gotten in over my head with this and don't foresee the parents stepping up to rescue me as previously anticipated.
My question is this - in my state, the law says that the guardian can consent to an adoption. DOES that sound right? I am sure that a loving family could be found, one more suitable in age and abilities. I cannot, however, understand why such laws would exist to allow me to sign over rights for adoption - If this is true, then why would anybody take on guardianship instead of adoption when adoption provides more stability and more insurance rights? Obviously my lawyer didn't help me much with this process, and I'm probably going to have to plop down another chunk of change to resolve this. However, it would be nice to know going into his office whether it is reasonable to expect that if the state law indicates I can sign adoption papers, that I could do so without tracking down the parents and going through all of that drama. This would help place this child in a loving permanent home, finally.
Can the birth parents contest an adoption, if I choose to pursue this avenue? I don't know that they will, but don't want a big legal battle just because the parents are selfish and don't want to look after their own child either. Of course I don't even know if adoption is the right answer yet, but my heart tells me that the child deserves a young and loving family, and there's less and less hope that this will ever occur given the continued bad choices being made by the previous abusive and neglectful parents.
In some ways, I feel that I was tricked into helping avoid a DHS termination of parental rights, and then stuck with the burden to bare on my own. Had I understood this scenario better from the beginning, it would seem that a DHS intervention would have placed the child in a permanent home by now without causing the extra legal expense on my behalf or the extra grief.
Any thoughts, advice, or general consolation would be helpful right now :/
Answer Hi J
I'm not in a position to fully answer your question, but I would make the following observations and suggestions. Since most courts usually assign a law guardian in matters such as these, I suggest that you contact the lawyer assigned as the law guardian to explain your dilemma. If that route is unsuccessful, contact a local child advocacy group to get them to help with this. This is clearly a matter of "best interests of children" and there is no way that the burden should fall entirely on you. However, it will help a great deal if you stay in the lives of these children and remain supportive to them during a very difficult time for them.
