2009 - A Year in Review

By Carrie Craft, About.com Guide

• We acknowledged the sad, sad numbers of children orphaned by AIDS on World AIDS Day.

• Numerous readers were upset by another reader's possible adoption disruption. I wonder when we will be more compassionate and understanding toward other adoptive parents? There is much to be said about walking a mile in another person's shoes.

• According to the Chicago Tribune, Lee Bevelheimer fostered Steve Harland back in 1959, and remained with the family through adulthood, but was never officially adopted by the Bevelheimer family. A few months back Bevelheimer, age 93, contacted Harland, age 64. Bevelheimer talked about his desire to adopt Harland before he died. December 7, 2009, the two met before a judge and completed the adoption. Isn't that sweet? What a great Christmas gift to Harland.

• I found 48 Hours Mystery "The Lost Children" completely heart wrenching to watch. I couldn't help but spend many moments teary as I watched the adoptive parents and the birth parents struggle with the news that the placement of the children they loved was built on lies. Scott and Karen Banks owned the Utah based adoption agency, Focus on Children and placed close to 100 Samoan children in adoptive homes. But as investigations were completed on these false adoptions, most children never lived in the nanny house.

• CBS presented The 11th Annual A Home for the Holidays with Faith Hill which highlighted adoptive families and children residing in foster care who are in need of adoption. yet another show that brought tears to my eyes. There is such a need for more adoptive homes right here in the United States through foster care adoption.

• We learned that for the We learned that for the fourth straight year in a row, the number of foreign children being adopted into American homes dropped. This was probably due to the changes in Russian and Chinese adoption policies. Guatemala came out on top in 2008.">fourth straight year in a row, the number of foreign children being adopted into American homes dropped. This was probably due to Guatemala shutting down and the economy. China and Ethiopia came out in the top two spots in 2009.