US adoption laws
Good and Bad Facilitators and Referral Services

Shelia Davis and her wonderful husband are the adoptive parents of three children through domestic private infant adoption. Their youngest child was diagnosed with autism when he began missing milestones. They have had to learn many new parenting techniques to help their son. Shelia is the founder of Heaven Sent Adoption Services, Inc. She strives to help women with unplanned pregnancies make informed decisions about parenting or placing their babies. She encourages all of her potential adoptive parents to research and engage in open loving adoptions. She notes that, “Adoption is very personal to me as I am the sister of two brothers through adoption, the mother of three children through adoption, a friend to three birth parents through adoption, a child of God through adoption and a director of a licensed adoption agency.”
In response to a heated discussion that included this question: "Is a referral service basically a consultant, sort of like a wedding planner? My understanding is that facilitators are illegal in some states, like Florida. "
Shelia writes the following: First off - it is just a "title" as to what they call themselves and I don't think the words matter at all....it's the way they work, their ethics, the money they charge and who oversees their practice's that are more important.
There are both good and bad Facilitators and Referral Services -
1. They are both small businesses having ONLY a business licenses and not overseen by the courts or the government like a child placing agency or attorney is.
2. They can charge whatever they like because they are not accountable to a court system for their revenues like an agency or attorney is.
3. They are not required to have trained social workers or counselors to provide services to you or the Expectant mothers.
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Guest Blog: Birthmothers Punished Before and Continue to Bear the Brunt of the NYS Legislators

Carole L. Whitehead is a first mother who placed her son for adoption in 1963. Back then, an unwed pregnancy was to be hidden and the child secretly placed. Carole felt she had no choice but to relinquish rights to her child in 1963. Now she is advocating for adoption reform.
As an unwed 18 year old in the summer of 1962, I became pregnant and with the climate the way it was back then, I was sent away and gave up my baby because as a “single” parent I could not provide for him. Whoever heard of single parent way back when? The innuendos did speak loudly. I was the tramp and my son, the bastard child, but nobody knew that because it was a secret. To hide my shame and disgrace [I did not know that I had either], I stayed at an unwed mother’s home, gave birth alone, and sent home without my beloved baby. I signed the surrender papers on July 1, 1963, when my son was less than 2 months old. For many years, I did not understand why I was treated like a pariah with my first pregnancy. My parents experienced no joy knowing that soon they would become grandparents while still in their 40s because they and society would not accept his birth.
Dear Adoption Maharishi: Can an 11-year-old Be Adopted Without Consent From Her Mother?

Dear Adoption Maharishi,
Can an 11 year old daughter be adopted without the consent of an imprisoned natural birthmother. She [the mother] received papers stating that the birth father had already consented. The birthmother had joint custody before going into prison. She has never received any papers stating she lost custody. Now she has only twenty days to react on adoption papers served to her in prison. I know this child will want to be with her natural mother when she gets paroled in December. The adoption is in Texas, the birthmother is in prison in Michigan.
Signed,
As the world turns...?
Dear As the world turns,
Let me first state that we are not members of the BAR, nor should you consider this response as a replacement for qualified legal representation. In fact, I do suggest that this mother request a lawyer. Now that we have that out of the way, several factors could make this possible. When a parent is imprisoned for two or more years, the state can interpret that extended parental absence as a lack of stability and permanence for children involved. If the family court involved in this particular child’s case has made such a ruling then the parental rights of the mother may have been terminated by the court to provide permanency for the child. This has happened to other imprisoned parents, so it may be a factor. However, the only details we have are those provided in your letter, so we cannot be sure.
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Guest Blog: Florida Georgia Adoption Scandal Involving Baby Olivia
Hi everyone, I am Harry Panagopoulos, the adoptive father of Olivia. I thank you all for participating in this Blog. If any of you need any more FACTS about this case, I will be happy to provide you with all the information. What happened was truly WRONG. When they said it was because of our health, both my wife and I, went to all the appropriate specialists and where given a clean bill of health. Florida ICPC only requested an updated FBI clearance and that's it. This was the ONLY reason we gave them Olivia back. WE are just so tired and drained from this whole nightmare that we just hope and pray that Olivia is in good hands. We have not gotten our money back and we need it in order to pursue getting another child and move forward in our lives.
Harry and Chene Panagopoulos had been working with ASCS of Florida for over 12 months on adopting a Caucasian infant. At our first point of contact we filed in a 97 page questionnaire and at that time, a home study was required and we got that done and submitted it to ASCS they received our home study on April 20th 2008. On Friday April 17th 2009 we received an email stating that there was a potential baby that was due November 20th 2009 and if ASCS could send our profile, of course we said yes.
On Monday April 20th 2009 we received a phone call, stating that they have another baby that had just been born and was tested positive for Methamphetamine (birthmother positive for Methamphetamine and Opiates), and if she can present our profile to the birthmother. We agreed as we own a clinic that provides services to children with special needs. At 6:30 pm we received a phone call stating that the birthmother chose us and we can come to get our baby immediately. We drove all night to Florida, to get our child. On April 21st 2009, we met with ASCS (Stacia Hammond) to pick up our baby Olivia Hannah (the name we chose for her).
My Baby’s Daddy Does Not Want to Place Our Baby for Adoption
In case you are wondering, foster parenting does not end the day your foster child graduates from high school, turns 18, or ages out of the system. If you parented your foster child for any length of time, you may be in for a lifetime relationship. At least that is how it is for me. I foster teenage girls but a few have arrived here as young as 11 years. The girls I get are usually state wards, meaning they are not going home, so I usually keep them until they graduate. After they leave home as adults, they call periodically, stop by to visit, and get some grandma time. Surprisingly, even the ones who left angry, eventually mature and come back. Last week, a young woman called who left my home about four years ago. Actually, I have not spoken to her in several months. She was quite upset because her baby’s daddy does not want her to make an adoption plan for their unborn child.
Guest Blog: Bill HB 2174 Public Reporting of Adoption Expenses
We are very fortunate to have a guest blog from Lynne Banks the co-founder of the adoptionscams.net and the Midwest Regional Director of the American Adoption Congress
Lynne has been married for 25 yrs and together her and Herb have adopted two girls. Both girls enjoy the benefits of open adoption with both of their biological families.
HB 2174 requires public reporting of adoption expenses to allow judges and the public to see the actual costs attorneys charge in adoptions. It also requires that only one prospective adoptive family at a time be billed for a birth mother's expenses and that all adoptions must be conducted in one of four locations - the home county of the birth mother; the home county of the adoptive parents; or in Oklahoma or Tulsa counties.
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Verdict in Focus on Children case ... big woop
After at least a couple of years ... and I stopped keeping track of dates of sleaze, so can't give an exact count ... in the case of Focus on Children and the dirtbags who ran that "adoption agency". The focus of Focus was Samoan children offered to adoptive parents through fraud and corrupt practices that saw some kids removed from birth homes under circumstances that had nothing to do with the welfare of anyone but the people who could make money off the deal, namely Scott and Karen Banks and a couple of their employees at the Utah agency. There was, no doubt, a lot of wrangling involved before these sleaze balls copped a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling (Don't you just love the image THAT conjures?) and visa fraud. The consequences of actions to be suffered by the Banks? For starters. 60 months probation. Then ...
As a part of the plea agreement, FOC has agreed to cease involvement in domestic and international adoptions. Additionally, Scott and Karen Banks will forfeit their rights to business and adoption records. These records will be used to provide additional information to adoptive parents and facilitate the exchange of information. Scott and Karen Banks also agreed to cooperate with the government in disclosing their adoption practices in Samoa, Russia, Vietnam and Guatemala. In addition, the defendants will be ordered to make contributions to a trust fund established to provide assistance to affected families.
Gee. That'll teach 'em. And, get this:
Guest Blog: The Not So Pleasant Side of Adoption - Being Scammed

Michael and his husband reside in California with their 18-month old adopted son. They hope to adopt another child soon. Michael contributes pertinent information on adoption issues on several websites and groups.
We brought our son home in September 2007. We are eternally grateful to his birth mother and to our adoption professionals.
We made our decision to adopt in April 2006, signed with our agency, and began submitting paperwork and meeting with our social worker for the required pre-placement homestudy. During this time, we received advice from the agency as well as those in the adoption community that we needed to get our information out there. We did. By February 1, 2007, we were ready and waiting to match. After waiting just five months, I got a bit impatient. We contacted our agency, and discovered that we had only been presented to a handful of birth mothers, none of whom were interested in meeting us. The agency, a very reputable one, confirmed that they had not had much contact with new birth mothers during the first six months of 2007. I was growing impatient. I constantly searched for ways to improve our efforts.
Which Adoption Expenses Are Income Tax Deductible?
It is time to get those adoption expenses in order before filing your income tax return. Unless of course you adopted a special needs child who qualified for a support subsidy from one of the states here in the U.S. A qualified special needs adoption gets the $11,650 adoption credit regardless of the amount you spent. Even if you had no out of pocket expense after being reimbursed by the state where the adoption occurred, you get to claim this amount. Unfortunately, if your adoption cost you $30,000 to $40,000, you still only get the $11,650. If you are lucky, you also work for an employer who offers an adoption benefit. Be aware that you cannot double dip. You can write off adoption expenses to both, as long you write off different qualifying expenses.
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Can We Take the Adoption Tax Credit for Failed Adoption?
It is tax time again. You had hoped to adopt during 2008 and in fact, you spent several thousand dollars towards an adoption that failed. You had expected to write off $11,650 of your adoption cost on your 2008 income tax return. Of course, you never imagined that you would spend all that money and not be holding your precious child right now. Is there anyway you can still take the adoption tax credit for a failed adoption and recoup some of your loses? Yes, according to the IRS publication and instructions for form 8839, “Information About Your Eligible Child or Children” Page 2, part one you can. The IRS has even elaborated on how to take the deduction when you do not have the required child information such as a Social Security Number.





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