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Seminar On Adoption Advocates For Parents

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

BRANDON - With many adoptive parents facing financial ruin as they struggle to care for their special-needs children, a local nonprofit agency is stepping in, teaching parents how to advocate for better family services.

The Sylvia Thomas Center in Brandon is working with the North American Council on Adoptable Children to host a seminar on advocating for families.

The seminar, to be held at the Lakeland campus of the University of South Florida on Jan. 26, is free and open to adoptive parents, service providers, advocates and others with an interest in adoption.

"Basically, I see this event as a forum ... that can improve our adoptive system in Florida," said Michele DeLoach, adoptive service coordinator for the Sylvia Thomas Center.

The system does not go far enough to help parents who have adopted problem children, such as those with mental illnesses or behavioral issues, DeLoach said. As a result, some parents return the children to the adoption system.

"Most adoptions succeed, but the small percentage of those that fail cannot be discounted. It's our belief that if we can address the concerns of these families then we can cause a positive change in our laws and procedures for adoptive families," DeLoach said.

Among the subjects the group will consider for discussion are mental health needs, Medicaid and safety.

The state would pay less to get services to these special needs children early in life than to take care of them as permanent wards of the state in prisons or elsewhere, said Renee Walker, director of the Sylvia Thomas Center.

The seminar is part of the Community Champions Network project, funded through a grant from Jockey International. The network's goal is to provide families with increased stability and preserve adoptions.

Walker said there is a huge need for family services before and after adoptions to ensure they don't end in disaster.

A study by the Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the University of Minnesota concluded that older children and those with disabilities are at highest risk for failure in adoptions. They account for most of the children Florida's Department of Children and Families offers for adoption.

To register for the seminar, call DeLoach at (813) 541-2787.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or at yhammett @tampatrib.com.

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