LilMtnCbn
11-26-2003, 05:31 AM
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031126/NEWS/31126034
9/1004
Suit Seeks to Speed Adoption Process
By RON WORD
The Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE -- More than 100 Duval County children are in legal limbo as their
adoption process lags, according to a lawyer whose firm is suing the Florida
Department of Children & Families, demanding that the procedure be speeded up.
Adoptions should take only about six months, but many cases are taking as long
as two years, lawyer Robert Spohrer said Tuesday.
Spohrer said the lawsuit simply asks the 1st District Court of Appeal in
Tallahassee to order the DCF to follow state law on adoptions.
"We want the DCF to do its job," Spohrer said. "And I think that's what they
want to do as well."
Children caught in the legal limbo cannot be placed on their new parents'
health insurance and are not eligible to inherit or receive child support if
the parents split, Spohrer said.
Adoptive parents are forced to wrangle with other issues such as getting
permission from the state to take the child on trips, even if they are blood
relatives.
"That is unacceptable. It's harming these children psychologically and it's
leaving them without any legal rights," said Helen Spohrer, the lawyer who
filed suit.
The problem started July 1, when Family Support Services took on adoption
services, including 2,800 pending cases in Duval County, said Pat Heinrichs,
executive director. In September, it discovered there were many cases in limbo.
By November, more than 100 cases had been identified as lagging, Heinrichs
said.
In court records from recent adoption hearings in Duval County, caseworkers
cited missing paperwork, difficulty in filling out paperwork and a lack of
adoption training as reasons for the delays.
Heinrichs said the agency has set a goal to have them resolved by January.
Bill Spann, a DCF spokesman, said as part of Gov. Jeb Bush's "No Place Like
Home" initiative, the agency hopes to decrease the adoption process for foster
parents and relative caregivers from a statewide average of eight months to
five months.
Statewide, there are more than 4,600 children in foster care available for
adoption. Homes have been identified for 2,500, but almost 2,100 are waiting to
be matched with a family.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
9/1004
Suit Seeks to Speed Adoption Process
By RON WORD
The Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE -- More than 100 Duval County children are in legal limbo as their
adoption process lags, according to a lawyer whose firm is suing the Florida
Department of Children & Families, demanding that the procedure be speeded up.
Adoptions should take only about six months, but many cases are taking as long
as two years, lawyer Robert Spohrer said Tuesday.
Spohrer said the lawsuit simply asks the 1st District Court of Appeal in
Tallahassee to order the DCF to follow state law on adoptions.
"We want the DCF to do its job," Spohrer said. "And I think that's what they
want to do as well."
Children caught in the legal limbo cannot be placed on their new parents'
health insurance and are not eligible to inherit or receive child support if
the parents split, Spohrer said.
Adoptive parents are forced to wrangle with other issues such as getting
permission from the state to take the child on trips, even if they are blood
relatives.
"That is unacceptable. It's harming these children psychologically and it's
leaving them without any legal rights," said Helen Spohrer, the lawyer who
filed suit.
The problem started July 1, when Family Support Services took on adoption
services, including 2,800 pending cases in Duval County, said Pat Heinrichs,
executive director. In September, it discovered there were many cases in limbo.
By November, more than 100 cases had been identified as lagging, Heinrichs
said.
In court records from recent adoption hearings in Duval County, caseworkers
cited missing paperwork, difficulty in filling out paperwork and a lack of
adoption training as reasons for the delays.
Heinrichs said the agency has set a goal to have them resolved by January.
Bill Spann, a DCF spokesman, said as part of Gov. Jeb Bush's "No Place Like
Home" initiative, the agency hopes to decrease the adoption process for foster
parents and relative caregivers from a statewide average of eight months to
five months.
Statewide, there are more than 4,600 children in foster care available for
adoption. Homes have been identified for 2,500, but almost 2,100 are waiting to
be matched with a family.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
