DOCSLIB.ORG

The New Oklahoma Adoption Code: a Quest to Accommodate Diverse Interests

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The New Oklahoma Adoption Code: a Quest to Accommodate Diverse Interests Tulsa Law Review Volume 33 Issue 1 Dedicated to the U.S. Supreme Court Fall 1997 The New Oklahoma Adoption Code: A Quest to Accommodate Diverse Interests D. Marianne Brower Blair [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.utulsa.edu/tlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation D. M. Blair, The New Oklahoma Adoption Code: A Quest to Accommodate Diverse Interests, 33 Tulsa L. J. 177 (2013). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.utulsa.edu/tlr/vol33/iss1/12 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by TU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Tulsa Law Review by an authorized editor of TU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Blair: The New Oklahoma Adoption Code: A Quest to Accommodate Diverse In TULSA LAW JOURNAL Volume 33 Fall 1997 Number 1 ARTICLES THE NEW OKLAHOMA ADOPTION CODE: A QUEST TO ACCOMMODATE DIVERSE INTERESTS* D. Marianne Brower Blairt I. INTRODUCTION ..................................... 178 II. JURISDICTION, CHOICE OF LAW, AND RECOGNMON ............ 183 A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction .......................... 183 1. Rationale ................................... 183 2. Bases for Jurisdiction .......................... 186 3. Pending Action in Another State ................... 191 4. Effect of Prior Custody Order ..................... 192 5. Relationship of § 7502-1.1 to Other Requirements of the Adop- tion Code, ICWA, and the PKPA .................. 195 B. PersonalJurisdiction and Venue ...................... 197 C. Choice of Law ................................... 198 * OKLA. STAT. tit. 10, § 7501-1.1 to 7511-1.5. t Associate Professor of Law, University of Tulsa College of Law. B.A. 1974, DePauw University; J.D. 1980, Ohio State University. Member, Oklahoma Adoption Law Reform Committee, 1995-98. I would like to thank Louis Manuel Barrios, Lisa K. Gold, Patrick Hagestad, Scott Pawgan, and Heath- er Poole for the excellent research assistance they contributed to this article and to my work on the Adoption Law Reform Committee, and Sharon Miller for her assistance in the preparation of the manuscript I would also like to gratefully acknowledge Sherri Finik and Representative Russ Roach, Co-Chairs of the Adoption Law Reform Committee; Kathy Muckala, Staff Attorney for the Oklahoma House of Representatives; and John O'Connor, Jack Petty, Gary Taylor, Mark Morrison, Joe Crosthwait, Jane Morgan, Michael Nomura, Judge April Sellers-White, Judge Glenn D. Carter, Susan Work, and Professor Robert Spector, my colleagues on the Committee, who each contributed tremendous time, talent, and effort to the passage of the Oklahoma Adoption Code. Although this article benefits greatly from their insights, any errors contained herein are my own. Published by TU Law Digital Commons, 1997 1 Tulsa Law Review, Vol. 33 [1997], Iss. 1, Art. 12 TULSA LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 33:177 D. Recognition of Sister State and Foreign Decrees ........... 200 Il. ADOPTION BY CONSENT, PERMANENT RELINQUISHMENT, OR WAIVER FOL- LOWING NOTICE FOR PLAN FOR ADOPTION .................. 202 A. Birth Mothers and Fathers of Children Born in Wedlock ..... 202 B. Putative Fathers ................................. 206 1. Consent or Relinquishment Prior to or After Birth ...... 206 2. Extrajudicial Consent ........................... 207 3. Notice of Plan for Adoption ...................... 208 C. Revocation ..................................... 212 IV. ADOPTION WITHOUT CONSENT AND TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS ........................................... 215 A. Procedure ...................................... 215 1. Right to Notice ............................... 215 2. Hearings ................................... 220 B. Grounds ....................................... 225 V. THE ADOPTION PROCESS ............................... 229 A. Home Studies ................................... 229 1. Preplacement Home Study ....................... 229 2. Postplacement and Supplemental Home Studies ........ 232 B. Court Appointed Attorneys and Guardiansad Litem for the Child 233 C. Pleadings and Other Documents ...................... 235 D. Interlocutory and FinalizationProcedure ................ 236 E. Appeals and Direct and CollateralAttacks ............... 237 F. Best Interests Hearing ............................. 239 G. Costs and Expenses ............................... 242 1. Limitations on Expenses and Reporting .............. 242 2. Prohibition on Retention of Child by Hospital ......... 243 3. Tax Exemptions .............................. 244 VI. DISCLOSURE OF IDENTIFYING AND NONIDENTIFYING INFORMATION.. 245 A. Disclosure of Birth Certificates ....................... 246 B. Mutual Consent Voluntary Registry .................... 250 C. Confidential IntermediaryProgram .................... 253 D. Medical and Social History .......................... 257 1. Collection .................................. 261 2. Post-Decree Supplementation ..................... 266 3. Disclosure .................................. 268 VII. CONCLUSION ....................................... 270 I. INTRODUCTION Adoption has a profound impact on many lives-the adoptees, their descen- dants, the members of their birth families, and the members of their adoptive families. Clearly the creation of new families can be a source of great joy for adoptive parents and relatives, stability and love for adoptees, and comfort and reassurance for birth families. Nevertheless, as an institution which both severs https://digitalcommons.law.utulsa.edu/tlr/vol33/iss1/12 2 Blair: The New Oklahoma Adoption Code: A Quest to Accommodate Diverse In 1997] NEW OKLAHOMA ADOPTION CODE and creates parental bonds, it can also be a source of grief, conflict, or longing for genealogical identity. For decades American legislators and courts have struggled to structure adoption law to serve the best interests of the children who will be adopted, while also protecting the rights of birth parents and recog- nizing the concerns of adoptive parents.! Even in adoptions that take place under the best of circumstances, the interests of those affected may ultimately conflict, as evidenced by the vociferous public debate which has escalated in recent decades over the post-adoption disclosure of information.2 Under the worst of circumstances, i.e., a contested adoption, these interests collide, often with tragic results.3 Perfect accommodation of the disparate interests of all adoptees, their descendants, their birth families, and their adoptive families may be as unattainable as was the dream of Don Quixote's quest.4 Oklahoma's new Adoption Code represents this state's most recent effort to address and balance the needs of all whose lives are affected by this important institution, and to achieve coherence in Oklahoma's adoption statutes. The Oklahoma Adoption Code recodifies and significantly revises Oklahoma's former adoption statutes. The Adoption Code was proposed by the Adoption Law Reform Committee (Committee), a committee created by the Oklahoma Legislature and composed of a legislator, judges, directors of adop- tion agencies, social workers, lawyers, and law professors, as well as a legisla- tive staff attorney who worked with the Committee. Over the course of two years, the Committee researched, conducted public meetings, and drafted the Adoption Code.6 The Code was enacted by the Legislature as House Bill 1241 and approved on June 10, 1997, with relatively few changes from the draft proposed by the Committee. Several overriding concerns dominated the Committee's work. The least controversial objective, but one vital to adoption 1. See generally JOEL D. TENNENBAUM, Introducing the Uniform Adoption Act, 30 FAM. L.Q. 333 (Summer 1996) (observing that the 1953 version of the Uniform Adoption Act and the 1971 revised version of the Uniform Adoption Act, both promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), were not widely adopted, and a Model State Adoption Act adopted by the American Bar Association's Family Law Section was not approved by the ABA House of Delegates); Joan Heifetz Hollinger, The Uniform Adoption Act: Reporter's Ruminations, 30 PAM. L.Q. 345, 345-351 (Summer 1996) (describing the bitter disagreements among the members of the 1994 Uniform Adoption Act drafting commit- tee and the full Commission); HoMER H. CLARK, JR., THE LAW OF DoMEsrTc RELATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, 888 (2d ed. 1988) (commenting on the difficulty states have encountered in striking an appropriate balance between the rights of parents and the protection of children in establishing grounds for termination of parental rights). 2. See generally Promise Doe v. Sundquist, 106 F.3d 702 (6th Cir. 1997) (suit by birth parents, adop- tive parents, and an adoption agency challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee's new disclosure statute that would permit the disclosure of identifying information regarding past as well as future adoptions.) For a more detailed discussion of the case, see infra, note 438. 3. See generally In re Doe, 638 N.E.2d 181 (111.1994), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 994 (1994) (Baby Rich- ard); In re Clausen, 502 N.W.2d 649 (Mich. 1993), stay denied sub nom.; DeBoer ex rel. Darrow v. DeBoer, 509 U.S. 1301 (Stevens, J.), and stay denied, 509 U.S. 938 (1993) (Baby Jessica). 4. See MITCH LEIGH AND JOE DARION, THE IMPOssIBLE DREAM (from DALE WASsERMAN, MAN OF LA MANCHA, based upon IGUEL DE CERVANTES, DON QUIXOTE DE LA MANCHA (1605)). 5. See OKLA. STAT. tit. 10, §§ 7511-1.1
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Separated at Adoption: Addressing the Challenges of Maintaining Sibling-Of-Origin Bonds in Post-Adoption Families
    Scholarly Commons @ UNLV Boyd Law Scholarly Works Faculty Scholarship Winter 2015 Separated at Adoption: Addressing the Challenges of Maintaining Sibling-of-Origin Bonds in Post-adoption Families Rebecca L. Scharf University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/facpub Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, Family Law Commons, Juvenile Law Commons, and the Law and Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Scharf, Rebecca L., "Separated at Adoption: Addressing the Challenges of Maintaining Sibling-of-Origin Bonds in Post-adoption Families" (2015). Scholarly Works. 928. https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/facpub/928 This Article is brought to you by the Scholarly Commons @ UNLV Boyd Law, an institutional repository administered by the Wiener-Rogers Law Library at the William S. Boyd School of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Separated at Adoption: Addressing the Challenges of Maintaining Sibling-of-Origin Bonds in Post- adoption Families REBECCA L. SCHARF* *Associate Professor of Law, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. B.A., Brandeis University, 1988. J.D., Harvard Law School, 1991. Thank you to Dean Dan Hamilton and the administration of the William S. Boyd School of Law for its tremendous support. Thanks as well to Mary Berkheiser, Jennifer Carr, Nancy Rapoport, and Karen Sneddon. I would also like to thank participants in the Rocky Mountain Junior Scholars Forum for their feedback on early drafts. 84 Winter 2015 SeparatedAt Adoption 85 I. Introduction Throughout the United States, for thousands of children languishing in foster care, adoption can seem like an unattainable fantasy; for the lucky few who are adopted, however, reality sets in when they first learn that their adoption has an unimaginable consequence.
    [Show full text]
  • Perfect Substitutes Or the Real Thing?
    CAHN.DOC 10/10/03 9:37 AM Duke Law Journal VOLUME 52 APRIL 2003 NUMBER 6 PERFECT SUBSTITUTES OR THE REAL THING? NAOMI CAHN† ABSTRACT This Article traces the development of adoption law using recent scholarship in history and sociology, as well as nineteenth century le- gal sources. The early history of American adoption provides a novel and useful context to analyze the complicated relationships between “traditional” and “alternative” family forms. The Article discusses how judicial interpretations of the meaning of adoption were cabined by the traditional significance of blood relationships, and examines the treatment of adopted and biological children in three contexts: pa- rental consent to adoption, inheritance, and the civil and criminal laws governing incest. The Article argues that the challenge today, as was true more than a century ago, is how to expand the meaning of family without destabilizing families. Copyright © 2003 by Naomi Cahn. † Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School. Many thanks to Anita Al- len-Castellito, Brian Bix, Wayne Carp, Richard Chused, Brad Clark, Tony Gambino, Jill Elaine Hasday, Joan Heifetz Hollinger, Carolyn Lawes, Chip Lupu, Dorothy Roberts, Catherine Ross, Elizabeth Samuels, Sonia Suter, and Robert Tuttle, to participants at a GW Faculty Workshop, and to the organizers of the 2002 American Historical Association panel on Sentimental Families. Thanks to GW for its financial support, to Mary Dini, for superb administrative expertise, and to Chelsea Grimmius, Melissa Loewenstern, Todd Melnick, Trisha Smith, and Michelle Wu for re- search assistance. Finally, as scholarship is a collaborative effort, a special note of thanks to the edi- tors of the Duke Law Journal for overcoming the difficulties of transcontinental editing.
    [Show full text]
  • Adoption Overview
    Virginia Department of Social Services July 2020 Child and Family Services Manual F. Adoption 1 ADOPTION OVERVIEW TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Framework ................................................................................................................. 3 1.2.1 Practice principles ....................................................................................... 3 1.2.2 Legal citations ............................................................................................. 3 1.2.2.1 Federal laws .............................................................................................. 3 1.2.2.2 Code of Virginia ........................................................................................ 6 1.3 Definitions .................................................................................................................. 7 1.4 Common websites ................................................................................................... 16 F Section 1 Page 1 of 16 1 Adoption Overview Virginia Department of Social Services July 2020 Child and Family Services Manual F. Adoption 1 ADOPTION OVERVIEW 1.1 Introduction “Adoption is the method provided by law to establish the legal relationship of parent and child between persons who are not so related by birth, with the same mutual rights and obligations that exist between children and their birth parents.” 1 The primary purpose of
    [Show full text]
  • Adoption Law in the United States: a Pathfinder
    Child and Family Law Journal Volume 2 | Issue 1 Article 2 2014 Adoption Law In The nitU ed States: A PathFinder Glen-Peter Ahlers Sr. Follow this and additional works at: https://lawpublications.barry.edu/cflj Part of the Family Law Commons Recommended Citation Ahlers, Glen-Peter Sr. (2014) "Adoption Law In The nitU ed States: A PathFinder," Child and Family Law Journal: Vol. 2 : Iss. 1 , Article 2. Available at: https://lawpublications.barry.edu/cflj/vol2/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Barry Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Child and Family Law Journal by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Barry Law. ADOPTION LAW IN THE UNITED STATES: A PATHFINDER Glen-Peter Ahlers, Sr.* A pathfinder is a research tool that points the way to information resources on a given topic by exploring research paths to the information.1 They identify appropriate information resources and search strategies and selectively provide and discuss guideposts along the research path.2 Typical guideposts on law-related issues include significant legislation, model statutes, court opinions, regulations, journals, books, web pages, associations, and human experts. Before beginning our research journey, we must be clear on the parameters and scope of our topic, adoption law. What is adoption law? According to Black’s Law Dictionary, adoption is the “statutory process of terminating a child’s legal rights and duties toward the natural parents and substituting similar rights and duties toward adoptive parents.”3 While most adoptions involve children, Article five of the Uniform Adoption Act4 and many states allow adults to be adopted as well.5 According to the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Stepchildren Adopted by Their Stepparents: Where Do They Fit?
    Stepchildren Adopted by their Stepparents: Where do they fit? Susan D. Stewart Department of Sociology 107 East Hall Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011 515-294-5912 [email protected] This research is supported by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, and the NSAF Small Research Grants Program funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. I thank Timothy Triplett of the Urban Institute for technical assistance with the NSAF. 1 ABSTRACT According to the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC, 2006), stepchild adoption (i.e., stepchildren who are legally adopted by their stepparents), is the most common form of adoption in the United States. Very little is known about the circumstances under which stepchildren are adopted by their stepparents and how they fare relative to other children. This study draws upon the 2002 National Survey of America’s Families and investigates the sociodemographic characteristics and well-being of adopted stepchildren, defined as children residing in married couple households with one biological parent and one adopted parent. Adopted stepchildren are compared to children with two married biological parents, two married adoptive parents, and children with one married biological parent and one (non-adoptive) stepparent. Preliminary descriptive results indicate that about 1% of children in married, two-parent households has an adoptive stepparent. About 5% of children in stepfamilies has been adopted by a stepparent. Adopted stepchildren have an increased risk of negative outcomes in the area of behavior and emotional problems. Results indicating that adopted stepchildren are most similar to children with two adoptive parents as opposed to one biological parent and one stepparent suggest that researchers need to be cautious about treating adopted stepchildren as stepchildren in their research.
    [Show full text]
  • The Adopted Child's Experience in Schools and Methods to Improve
    The Adopted Child’s Experience in Schools and Methods to Improve it. Elementary Education Honor’s Thesis Emory Manguilli Wheaton College ‘17 Table of Contents Introduction………...………………………………………………………3 Literature review……..…………………………………………………….6 Interviews Analysis………………………………….…………………....16 Development of Children’s book………………………….………….….21 Development of Unit Plan……………..………………………………….29 Conclusion……………………………………….....………………...……35 Works Cited………………………………………………,,,……………..39 Appendices……………………………………...…………………………43 A. Interview Protocol……………………………………………...43 B. Interview Data………………………………………………….48 C. Children’s Book………………………………………………..62 D. Unit of Study………………….………………………………..75 2 INTRODUCTION I started my junior year at Wheaton College with an idea that I had developed the previous summer. My work with Touched By Adoption, an organization based in Connecticut that aims to “strengthen the wellbeing of families formed through adoption,” inspired this idea. The plan was to write a children’s book about adopted kids, which would incorporate different types of families and to include some type of “curriculum” with it. This curriculum and book would then be published and distributed to classrooms across the United States to give students with a non-heteronormative biological (non- traditional) living situation a sense of inclusion and acceptance. The book and curriculum would serve as a resource for teachers, who, while required to be educated in numerous areas such as special education and teaching English Language Learners (ELLs,) are not necessarily required to learn anything about the development of children from non-traditional families. As an education major, I decided to address this obvious gap in the curriculum, because it seems that non-traditional families have become the norm in our society, rather than the outlier. In the fall semester of 2015, I met with the Dean of First Year students, Jocelyn Emerson, in a typical meeting to discuss our summers.
    [Show full text]
  • Adoption Law: Congratulations for Now--Current Law, the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, and Final Adoptions
    Oklahoma Law Review Volume 49 Number 2 1-1-1996 Adoption Law: Congratulations for Now--Current Law, the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, and Final Adoptions Eric C. Czerwinski Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/olr Part of the Family Law Commons Recommended Citation Eric C. Czerwinski, Adoption Law: Congratulations for Now--Current Law, the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, and Final Adoptions, 49 OKLA. L. REV. 323 (1996), https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/olr/vol49/iss2/5 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Oklahoma Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Adoption Law: Congratulations! For Now - Current Law, the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, and Final Adoptions L Introduction In 1993, Jim and Colette Rost wanted to expand their family but were unable to conceive any more children.' The Rosts opted for an open adoption, where the adoptive parents and birth parents could meet before the adoption and the birth parents would not be completely excluded from the child's life. The State of Ohio, where the Rosts lived, discourages open adoptions; therefore, the Rosts contacted an attorney in California.2 The attorney introduced the Rosts to a young, unmarried couple, Cindy Ruiz and Richard Adams, who were expecting twin girls. The two couples agreed to the adoption with the Rosts giving Ruiz $10,000 in a trust fund to cover expenses? Both Cindy Ruiz and Richard Adams signed papers consenting to the adoptions.
    [Show full text]
  • Policy Viii-E: Decisions Involving Children in Dhs Custody Whose Parents’ Rights Have Been Terminated
    POLICY VIII-E: DECISIONS INVOLVING CHILDREN IN DHS CUSTODY WHOSE PARENTS’ RIGHTS HAVE BEEN TERMINATED 01/2021 The Department of Human Services (DHS or Department), Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS or Division), has designated the Area Director or designee as having the authority to give consent for major decisions for children under the age of eighteen (18) whose parental rights have been terminated. The Area Director or designee will make decisions regarding such consents with input from local DCFS staff who work directly with the child, as well as other members of the child’s team such as the child’s attorney ad litem, Court Appointed Special Advocate, and therapist, as applicable. Major decisions that require the Area Director’s or designee’s written consent include: A. Marriage; B. Entry into the Armed Forces; C. Out-of-state or out-of-country travel; and D. Media release that identifies the child as being in foster care (also requires consultation with DHS Office of Communications, DHS Privacy Officer, and the child’s attorney ad litem). For youth ages eighteen (18) to twenty-one (21), who elect to participate in Extended Foster Care Program, the Area Director’s or designee’s consent is not required for the decisions listed above. However, Division staff will hold a staffing with the youth and the youth’s team to discuss the benefits and drawbacks associated with such decisions and to provide guidance to the youth as needed. 1 POLICY VIII-F: INFANTS RELINQUISHED FOR ADOPTION UNDER THE SAFE HAVEN ACT 01/2021 Any medical provider, law enforcement agency, or fire department will take possession of a child who is thirty (30) days old or younger, without a court order, if the parents of the child, without expressing an intent to return for the child, leaves the child: A.
    [Show full text]
  • Unwed Fathers' Rights in Adoption: the Virginia Code Vs. the Uniform Adoption Act
    William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice Volume 11 (2004-2005) Issue 2 William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law: Symposium: Attrition of Women from Article 7 the Legal Profession February 2005 Unwed Fathers' Rights In Adoption: The Virginia Code vs. The Uniform Adoption Act Erin Green Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmjowl Part of the Family Law Commons Repository Citation Erin Green, Unwed Fathers' Rights In Adoption: The Virginia Code vs. The Uniform Adoption Act, 11 Wm. & Mary J. Women & L. 267 (2005), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmjowl/vol11/iss2/ 7 Copyright c 2005 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmjowl UNWED FATHERS' RIGHTS IN ADOPTION: THE VIRGINIA CODE vs. THE UNIFORM ADOPTION ACT It was an emotional scene: after a long custody battle, Roberta and Jan DeBoer were forced to give the child they had raised for two and a half years back to the child's birth parents. Much media attention surrounded the case of Baby Jessica, who was born to Cara Clausen on February 8, 1991.' Shortly after the birth, Clausen and Scott Seefeldt, whom Clausen named as Jessica's father, signed release of custody forms.2 Roberta and Jan DeBoer filed a petition for adoption of Jessica; Clausen and Seefeldt's parental rights to Jessica were terminated; and the DeBoers transported their new baby from Iowa to their home in Michigan Nine days after the termination of her parental rights, Clausen filed
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of the Pre-Adoption Functioning and Post-Adoption
    Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 A Study of the Pre-Adoption Functioning and Post-Adoption Adjustment of Children Who Have Been Prenatally Exposed to Alcohol, Tobacco and/or Other Drugs Geraldine DeLong Goldman Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK A STUDY OF THE PRE-ADOPTION FUNCTIONING AND POST-ADOPTION ADJUSTMENT OF CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN PRENATALLY EXPOSED TO ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND/OR OTHER DRUGS BY GERALDINE DELONG GOLDMAN A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Geraldine DeLong Goldman All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Geraldine DeLong Goldman defended on September 19, 2007. _____________________________________________ Scott D. Ryan Professor Directing Dissertation _____________________________________________ Akihito Kamata Outside Committee Member _____________________________________________ Darcy Siebert Committee Member Approved: _____________________________________ Darcy Siebert, Director, Doctoral Program _____________________________________ C. Aaron McNeece, Dean, College of Social Work The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii To my husband, Tom, for loving me. To my daughter, Megan, for teaching me to live courageously. To my grandmother, Frances Lucile Hodges DeLong, for inspiring my love of learning. And to my brother, Barry, who I will miss every day of my life. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My decision to return to school to pursue my doctorate was the fulfillment of a life-long dream.
    [Show full text]
  • Intercountry Adoptions: Are the Biological Parents' Rights Protected?
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Washington University St. Louis: Open Scholarship Washington University Global Studies Law Review Volume 5 Issue 1 January 2006 Intercountry Adoptions: Are the Biological Parents' Rights Protected? Cynthia Ellen Szejner Washington University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies Part of the Family Law Commons Recommended Citation Cynthia Ellen Szejner, Intercountry Adoptions: Are the Biological Parents' Rights Protected?, 5 WASH. U. GLOBAL STUD. L. REV. 211 (2006), https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies/vol5/iss1/9 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Global Studies Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS: ARE THE BIOLOGICAL PARENTS’ RIGHTS PROTECTED? INTRODUCTION The number of international adoptions has increased drastically in recent years.1 In the United States, the number of international adoptions increased from 7,093 in 1990 to nearly 22,884 in 2004.2 The international adoption phenomenon began after World War II when Americans became aware of the plight that abandoned children in Japan and Europe faced in the aftermath of the war.3 “During the 1950s, proxy adoptions, which allowed U.S. citizens to adopt in foreign courts in absentia, were the most widely publicized means of international adoption.”4 After adoptions from Japan and Europe began to slow, the Korean War created a new interest in the children of war-torn Asia.”5 Similarly, as a result of the Vietnam War, 3,267 Vietnamese children were adopted by American parents between 1963 and 1976.
    [Show full text]
  • Center for Adoption Policy the European Union and International
    Center for Adoption Policy The European Union and International Adoption Maarten Pereboom, Salisbury University Adoption – legally taking an individual born to others as one’s own child – dates back to ancient times, though the practice has changed significantly over time and is not common to all cultures. In recent times adoption has become an international phenomenon that tests both precepts about universal human rights and the interface of different legal customs and systems. In Europe, where traditions also vary from country to country, intercountry adoption has become entangled in the complicated process by which countries accede to the European Union, the supranational organization of states forming the world’s largest single market. While Europe explicitly proclaims the rights of children among its extensive list of human rights, the welfare of abandoned children remains caught between the imperatives of, on the one hand, helping as many children as possible, and, on the other, ensuring that best practices are followed, protecting the child and respecting the laws of all states involved – making the process lengthy, cumbersome and expensive. In 2004, under pressure from the European Union to which it hopes to accede in 2007, Romania banned adoption by foreigners of Romanian children. The law, which took effect in 2005, aimed to crack down on the corruption that existed in a highly flawed system, but in doing so it consigned thousands of children to years of institutional life. For families hoping to adopt one or more of these children, the situation reveals a terrible void between European human rights declarations and enforceable national laws that actually ensure the welfare of children.
    [Show full text]