Take a moment and look back over the top 2010 adoption and foster care news stories that held our attention. What made it in your top 2010 news line up? Maybe it was your own adoption story?
Here are a few of the top 2010 adoption and foster care news I thought was pretty interesting or made an impact on adoption and foster care.
Haiti Earthquake
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The new year begins as a nightmare for many people when the January 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake hit. The loss of life is massive, the destruction of Haiti mind boggling.
As people work to recover and rebuild, many worry about the children - the ones waiting in orphanages for their adoptions to be finalized and of course the newly orphaned. Prospective adoptive parents worry about the children they have been matched to, adoption paperwork buried under rubble. The adoption process has slowed to a halt. Many orphanages destroyed. Children in dire circumstances.
Happy New Year.Missionaries Arrested in Haiti
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Many of the top 2010 stories for the year surround the Haiti earthquake. A week or so after the earthquake, 10 Americans were arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle 33 children out of Haiti. Nine from Idaho and one from Kansas, the ten were charged with child abduction, but escaped the greater charge of human trafficking. The State Department allowed the Haitian government to handle the situation. While eight of them were allowed to travel home, this speaks to the main fear of any country that has been hit by disaster - human trafficking.
Russian Child Returned to Russia by Adoptive Mother
The world of Russian adoption has been turned upside down when a 7-year-old child was sent back to Moscow, one-way ticket with a note pinned to him written by his Tennessee adoptive mother. The note basically said that she could no longer care for him due to his behaviors and that the information provided to her by Russian officials was false.
This incident just a month after Nanette and Michael Craver of Pennsylvania were charged with first-degree murder for the beating death of their 7-year-old adopted son, Ivan Skorobogatov, renamed Nathaniel, caused a huge slow down in Russian adoptions. The United States and Russia held several meetings to create a bilateral adoption agreement to better protect Russia's children.
Sandra Bullock Adopted a Baby Boy Months Before Anyone Knew
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Sandra and Jesse began the adoption proceedings as a married couple months before the news ever leaked to the media. Louis Bardo Bullock, was born in New Orleans. But Sandra completed the adoption as a single parent after the scandal broke about Jesse's infidelity. The adoption process was started four years ago, but Sandra Bullock, 45, didn't add Louis to the family until January and felt it best to keep the adoption a secret until after the Oscars.
Gay Adoption Ban Over in Florida
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Florida’s 33 year ban on gay adoption officially ended in October 2010, after Florida Attorney General decided not to appeal a recent court ruling that Florida’s ban on gay adoption unconstitutional.
Gay parents were allowed to foster in Florida, but not adopt, but foster parent, Frank Gill, sued the state when he and his partner were not allowed to adopt two foster sons that had been in their care for six years. Earlier this month the gay couple was allowed to proceed with the adoption after a three-judge state appellate court unanimously found that there was no “rational basis” for the ban on gay adoption in Florida. DCF, Department of Children & Families, has already started to change forms that ask about a person’s sexual orientation.
Singer Jimmy Wayne Walks to Raise Awareness for Teens Aging Out of Foster Care
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On January 1, Jimmy Wayne left Nashville, Tennessee and started walking toward Phoenix, Arizona, a 1,700 mile walk to raise awareness of the number of homeless teens and for the Meet Me Halfway organization, that provides services to homeless teens, especially those teens who are aging out of the foster care system. July 31, with a broken heel, Jimmy Wayne reached Phoenix.
Wayne's walk was inspired by his own foster parents, Bea and Russell Costner, who took him in when he was 16 and allowed him to stay with them for 6 years, where he was able to finish college and feel stability - something he says he missed out on.
Haitian Baby that was Thought to Be Dead - Reunited with Parents
Two-month-old baby Jenny fell through the floor along with her babysitter during the earthquake and found four days later in the arms of a deceased woman. Assuming the woman was her mother and Jenny was an orphan, the rescue workers flew Jenny to Miami, Florida because of her extensive injuries.
Her mother was knocked unconscious during the earthquake and her husband searched through rubble, but never found Jenny. They later discovered that she was taken to Miami. It took several weeks to gain a passport and a visa to travel to Miami. With the help of a Haitian-American lawyer, a DNA test proved that baby Jane Doe was Baby Jenny. After 3 months of being separated, the couple was reunited with their Jenny.
Rod Stewart Opens Up About Daughter He Placed for Adoption 46 Years Ago
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At the age of 17 or 18, rocker Rod Stewart placed a daughter for adoption. Sarah Streeter, who lives in England, learned of her famous biological father as an adult about 15 years ago, and has been in contact with him off and on. Now that her adoptive parents have passed away the contact has been more consistent, but remains a process that both Stewart and Streeter are taking slowly. Streeter noted in an interview that there is no anger there, but does understand better now that she is a bit older.
Stewart shared on a recent taping of The Joy Behar Show that he placed Sarah Streeter for adoption because he felt he was too broke to properly care for her. Stewart is 65 and has 7 children including Streeter, with an 8th on the way.
