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'Angel In Adoption' From Valrico To Be Honored

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 29, 2007

VALRICO - A year ago, the Brandon YMCA invited Cathy Denton to talk about her experiences with foster care and adoption. Sitting next to her was fourth-term U.S. Rep. Adam H. Putnam.

'Three weeks ago I heard he'd nominated me for this award,' Denton said. 'Then I got a call saying, 'Congratulations, you're invited to a ceremony and gala event in Washington, D.C.''

The Angels in Adoption award was established by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, an informal, bipartisan alliance of members of Congress. The program, established in 1999, honors outstanding individuals and promotes public awareness.

Denton and her husband, Jerry, will travel at their own expense to the event Thursday.

'We're not really 'gala' people,' Denton said. 'So we have to find appropriate clothing.'

Her husband smiled.

'I can't even wear my favorite dress-boots,' he said.

The couple have five children, three adopted and two biological, ages 12 to 31.

'Plus five foster children aged three and under,' Cathy Denton said. Adopted, she added, 'means handpicked and homegrown.'

For the past 20 years, about 155 children have lived with the Dentons, including a baby abandoned at birth. The children stay as little as a few days to as long as five years.

Jerry Denton, 60, with two toddlers on his lap, said he hopes his wife's award will give them a platform to raise awareness.

'I love the kids,' he said, 'but I hate the system. It's not about the children anymore.

'I hope this will bring more recognition, more funding, more services. We have to fight for everything they get.'

The family likes to travel, exposing the children to sights they otherwise might not witness.

'It costs more per day to kennel each dog than these children get to live on,' Jerry said.

'We're here to help break the cycle,' Cathy Denton said. 'Every child that comes into care comes with baggage. These kids are the ones who could be making decisions when we're ready for nursing homes! We need to make sure they're educated, not in jail, and given an opportunity to have a life.

'I'd like to see more services for both foster and adoptive families because once you adopt, you're pretty much left out there on your own.'

Born in the Panama Canal Zone in 1957, Cathy Denton started bringing home strays early.

'Cats, an alligator, a sloth,' she said. 'Then I brought home kids. Once I heard a baby crying and played with her. I started bringing her home, then she'd spend the night, and eventually she lived with us till she was 7, then again when she was 12.

'When I was 13, I went to the mountains and brought home a starving baby. My mom let me feed him, but then I had to take him back to the village.'

She married Jerry Denton in 1974, and the couple moved to Albany, Ga., in 1976.

'I'd never lived in the States,' Cathy Denton said, 'and I'd never seen domestic violence; there really wasn't any crime in the Canal Zone.'

Jerry Denton's work with the Federal Aviation Administration brought the family to Tampa in 1980, and they moved to Valrico 20 years ago when they needed more space.

Jerry Denton said he is proud of his wife's determined advocacy.

'After we adopted our second child, she became a legal-beagle,' he said. 'She had her briefcase, and she made things happen.'

'They'd fall through the cracks,' Cathy Denton said. 'Schools said they didn't qualify, but I insisted. We're supposed to be community-based care, but it's not.'

The most meaningful support, she said, comes via friends who also provide foster care.

'Most people our age don't want to go out to dinner with five little kids,' Jerry Denton said. 'When we go out to dinner, we look like the United Nations.'

Hillsborough Kids is the county's lead agency for foster care, providing a central clearing house for services, donations, legal guardians, mentors, Big-Brother and Big-Sister programs and other resources.

Additionally, agencies such as the Brandon Community Foundation help provide desperately needed support. However, Cathy Denton said it is critical that the government increase its level of commitment.

'It just won't get done if we have to rely on people as individuals,' she said. 'There are just so many kids who need both foster and permanent homes, and there are so many ways to help.'

A LOOK AT CATHY
WHO: Cathy Denton

BORN: Panama Canal Zone, 1957

MARRIED: Jerry Denton, 1974

MOVED TO VALRICO: 1984

CHILDREN: 155 and counting

WHY ADOPT: 'Because every child has a right to a family, a right to be safe. You can make a big difference in a child's life.'

Derek Maul can be reached at DerekMaul@Gmail.com

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