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Celebrity Adoption

Faith Hill Embraces Her Adoption Story

Faith Hill is recognized across the world for her music, but she is just as highly thought of in the adoption community for her advocacy of domestic adoption. She even played a major role in helping her biological brother turn his life around, even though she didn’t know him for the first 20 years of her life.
On September 21, 1967, Hill was placed for adoption by her birth mother and adopted by Ted and Edna Perry, who named her Audrey Faith Perry.
As Hill’s career blossomed in her late teens and early twenties, so did her desire to reconnect with her birth family.
“I was adopted into this incredible home, a loving, positive environment, yet I had this yearning, this kind of darkness that was also inside me,” she told Good Housekeeping.
Hill decided to shed some light on the darkness that she couldn’t escape. After moving to Nashville in 1993, when she wasn’t working on her next album or concert, she was searching for her birth family – and she found them.
“The first time I met my birth mother, I just stared at her,” Hill said. “I’d never seen anyone that looked anything like me.”
And she learned that she had a biological brother as well. As excited as Hill was to meet her brother Zachary White, he was perhaps even more excited to meet her.
According to National Enquirer, White had many run-ins with the law, including stealing purses and cars to fuel his drug addiction. Fortunately, White found the help that he needed and began to turn his life around. Then, Faith Hill entered his life, and remained there.
“I made my share of mistakes in the past, but Faith showed me that I could be a better person,” White told National Enquirer. “Faith is a beautiful, amazing person, and she’s forgiven me for the mistakes I made when I was younger.”
Hill continues to serve as an inspiration to anyone who has been touched by adoption. Anyone can see how Hill isn’t ashamed of her adoption, she’s embraced it. And because of her adoption, she has not just her adoptive parents that love her, but her birth family as well.
And if Hill wasn’t placed for adoption, would she be the mega-country star that she is today? Thanks to her birth mother, we will never know.
“I have a lot of respect for my birth mother and no feeling of anger or any of that,” Hill said. “I know she must have had a lot of love for me to want to give me what she felt was a better chance.”
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Texas Judge Makes Ruling for Foster Care Reform, State Lawyers Push Back

In December, District Judge Janis Jack of Corpus Christi ruled that the current state of the Texas foster care system was unconstitutional and jeopardized the safety of foster children. To combat these issues, she has moved to implement a series of reforms, including regulating the number of caseworkers and increasing their supervision.
Texas lawyers have responded by asking a federal appeals court to suspend the new requirements. The requests state that the requirements are too vague and could potentially break up sibling groups in foster care. Furthermore, they say that the changes would affect children who are not currently at risk of harm. At the time, the state lawyers’ requests have been denied.
The reform movement will hopefully be the first of many steps toward protecting and improving the welfare of Texas children in foster care.
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Congo Working on New Adoption Legislation and Reviewing Cases

Last November, the Democratic Republic of Congo approved the international adoptions of 72 Congolese children. Now, the government is drafting new legislation and has reviewed pending adoption cases.
Since 2013, international adoptions have been on hold in Congo because of flaws in the adoption process. As a result, many adoptive families found themselves stuck in the middle of their adoptions, unable to take their children home. Hundreds of families are still waiting to complete their adoptions.
The new legislation will be voted on in March, and waiting families will be notified of the decision and the effect it has on their adoptions.
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Celebrity Adoption

A Birth Mom’s Journey: Kate Mulgrew

In 1977, a young Kate Mulgrew became pregnant unexpectedly with a man she did not wish to marry. At a time when pregnancies outside of marriage were considered taboo, Mulgrew knew marrying the father of her baby was not the right decision for her.
The actress, best known for her portrayals of Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager and, more recently, Red in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, has defended her decision stating that it was the best option for her and her child.
“Abortion was absolutely out of the question. So was marriage,” Mulgrew told Wilmington Star-News in 1979. “I suppose I thought I was in love…but I knew he wasn’t the man I wanted to spend my life with.”
Mulgrew became pregnant just as her acting career was beginning to blossom through her role as Mary Ryan in the soap opera Ryan’s Hope. The show’s writers wrote the pregnancy into the script allowing her to continue her acting career. But even so, she wasn’t ready to become a mother and “would not consider raising a child as a single parent.”
She remained committed to her adoption plan throughout her pregnancy and made arrangements with a Roman Catholic agency to complete the adoption. Mulgrew revealed to the Star-News that there were only two times when she “cracked.”
“The first time was the night I sneaked out of my hospital room and, against policy, went down to the nursery and stood at the glass partition getting my only look at my daughter. It was a terribly difficult moment,” Mulgrew said.
The second time “was when I went home from the hospital – without her.”
Finding Peace
Raised an Irish Roman Catholic, Mulgrew believes the sanctity of marriage is of the utmost importance. She grew up in a tight-knit, loving family and they were incredibly supportive of her decision to place the child for adoption. She finds comfort in knowing that her daughter was raised in the same sort of family.
“I know my child is being raised somewhere by two loving parents in a home that’s filled with warmth and joy,” Mulgrew told Star-News.
Mulgrew has no regrets about her decision to place her daughter for adoption and is thankful to have had the experience.
“I believe it was God’s will,” Mulgrew said. “I wouldn’t trade the experience. I also wouldn’t repeat it. It’s a lingering pain, a pain that will always be there.”
Through the pain, however, Mulgrew has been able to find peace in her decision.
“Though I’m always going to feel the hurt, at least I know my child is alive and that she is happy somewhere and growing up surrounded by love.”
Mulgrew is now happily married and has two sons. She was reunited with her biological daughter in 2001.
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Jolie-Pitt Family Not Expanding Just Yet

In the midst of recent speculation that Brad and Angelina were gearing up to adopt a seventh child from Cambodia, the Cambodian government has stepped forward to strike down the rumors. While Jolie was filming in Cambodia last month, there was no talk of adoption, and currently, adoptions are closed between the two countries.
But that doesn’t mean the Jolie-Pitt clan is done growing. In fact, they had even talked about having as many as 12 kids. Whether or not that is still part of the plan is anyone’s guess, but the possibility is still there.
Jolie and Pitt are no strangers to adoption, and their six children have always been of great interest to the public. In 2002, they adopted Maddox from Cambodia, and in 2005 they traveled to Ethiopia to add Zahara to their family. Brad and Angie then welcomed their first biological child, Shiloh, in 2006. A year later the clan adopted again, this time a young boy from Vietnam whom they named Pax. Then, in 2008, the clan welcomed two more biological children, Knox and Vivienne, 5.
A family with six (soon seven?) children may seem overwhelming to many, but Brad and Angelina seem to be handling it with grace. Though they have been both criticized and praised for their parenting styles (see Shiloh Jolie-Pitt’s decision to dress like a boy), it seems that the clan is perfectly happy. The next child, if and when he or she arrives, is sure to be welcomed whole-heartedly into their family.
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Proposed Nebraska Bill would Let Religious Child Welfare Agencies Turn Away Gay Couples

Senator Mark Kolterman of Seward, Nebraska has introduced a bill that would allow child welfare agencies to refuse gay couples on the basis of religion. This would potentially prevent gay and lesbian couples in the state from becoming foster parents.
The proposed bill, Legislative Bill 975, would protect anti-gay agencies from losing funding if they made an objection on religious grounds. Kolterman has stated that many agencies have been shut down for refusing services to gay couples, and that the bill would be integral to maintaining these institutions and finding homes for children.
The bill states: “Having as many possible qualified child-placing agencies in Nebraska is a substantial benefit to the children of Nebraska who are in need of these placement services and to all of the citizens of Nebraska because the more qualified agencies taking part in this process there are, the greater the likelihood that permanent placement can be achieved for each child.”
Our Opinion: Anyone who can provide a loving home should have the opportunity to be a parent. If supporters of the bill were truly concerned with the welfare of foster children, they would encourage agencies to welcome all qualified parents, regardless of factors as irrelevant as sexual orientation. There have been huge strides in the adoption world for gay and lesbian parents in the last year, and we hope that this doesn’t become a step backward.
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Alaska Representative Makes a Call for More Foster Parents

On Thursday, Alaska lawmaker Les Gara spoke out on the pressing issue of an underfunded foster care system. Currently, there are as many as 2,800 Alaska children in need of homes, and an estimated 1,400 licensed homes.
Gara implores Alaska families to consider opening their doors to these children, who age out of the foster care system at eighteen. Individuals who age out of foster care run a greater risk of discontinuing their education or becoming homeless. To combat the issue, Gara calls upon the citizens of Alaska for help: “We need foster parents badly, we need adoptive parents badly.”
Alaska families who wish to become foster parents can contact the Alaska Center for Resource Families.
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"Unadoptable" Children with Down Syndrome Adopted from China

In 2013, Michigan-based adoption agency Bethany Christian Services launched the Bamboo Project to find homes for Chinese children with Down Syndrome. The effort began when adoptive mother Desiree White began her journey to adopt her son, Isaac.
White always knew she wanted to adopt a child with Down Syndrome, but doing so in China was a fairly unprecedented move, as the Chinese government considered children like Isaac to be “unadoptable.” Soon after the success of Isaac’s adoption, the Bamboo project was able to receive the adoption files of 14 more children like him, 10 of whom have been adopted. Currently, they are making efforts to find forever families for over 40 children.
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Celebrity Adoption

Charlize Theron: Two-Time Adoptive Mother

The South African 40-year-old Charlize Theron, known most recently as Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, is one of many celebrities to adopt domestically – and one of many women to adopt as a single mother.
In 2012, Theron adopted an African American baby boy and named him Jackson. She always wanted to adopt a baby, even if it meant as a single mom.
“Why not? I’m open to anything in life,” Theron told Australia’s Madison Magazine.
Theron’s decision to adopt a baby wasn’t one she made overnight, as her mother recently reminded her of a letter she wrote as a child:
“Would you please take me to an orphanage, so that I can go and adopt a baby?” it read. “I always knew I would adopt. Always.”
And even though she is a single mother, following the ending of her long-term relationship with Stuart Townsend, Jackson wasn’t necessarily an only child.
“From the moment this baby come into our home, (our) two dogs have never been more in love,” Theron told Us Magazine. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed.
Theron shared that her pitbull, “Blue,” even wakes up for every feeding and diaper change.
Adopting baby Jackson wasn’t an overnight process, as many people believe is possible for celebrities. Theron waited nearly two years to complete the adoption process, but it was all worth it once she finally held Jackson for the first time.
Theron recalled her mother telling her: “You know, it took me nine months to fall in love with you while you were growing in my stomach, and it took you two years to fall in love with this little baby.”
“It took two years of waiting, and then one day, it’s finally there, and it feels exactly how it’s supposed to feel,” Theron said. “I don’t know how to describe it. It just feels right.”
In 2015, Theron was ready to adopt again, and she welcomed a little girl into her family, who she named August. Her second adoption did not take as long as the first, the whole process lasting around six months. Today, they are a happy family of three (plus the pooches), and Theron serves as a model for single parents and adoptive mothers.
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Haitian Central Authority to Cease Accepting Transition Case Applications

January 14, 2016: The Department of State (Department) and the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) wish to advise U.S. prospective adoptive parents, adoptive parents, and adoption service providers of a new transition case deadline established by the Haitian Central Authority, L’Institut du Bien-Etre Social et de Recherches (IBESR).  IBESR will cease accepting dossiers for U.S. transition cases on February 12, 2016.  We strongly advise U.S. families who have an eligible transition case and have not yet filed their transition dossier with IBESR to file their dossier with IBESR before the February 12 deadline if they want to continue as a transition case.
The Department and USCIS remind U.S. prospective adoptive parents that IBESR may not be able to match all eligible prospective adoptive parents who applied using the transition process with a Haitian child before April 1, 2016.  We will share additional information as it becomes available for families who are unable to obtain a match from IBESR and meet the transition case criteria.
The Department also alerts prospective adoptive parents residing in or traveling to Haiti to exercise caution and remain abreast of the security situation throughout the current electoral period.  The Haitian government has rescheduled the final round of elections for January 24, 2016.  Please see the Department’s Travel Alert for more information.
(Update Courtesy of USCIS.)

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