skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, July 26, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

November spotlights successful adoptions, Indiana kids still waiting

play audio
Play

Thursday, November 2, 2023   

November is National Adoption Month, a time to boost awareness of the need for adoption and the number of children in foster care seeking permanent homes.

Throughout the month, Indiana courts will hold hearings on pre-scheduled days to legalize adoptions for families who have successfully completed the requirements.

Michelle Savieo, Indiana Adoption Program manager for the Department of Child Services, said the courts have celebrations, and bring in providers who can offer resources to these families.

"Our program offers gift bags for the courts to share with families, that include resources and fun items related to adoption," Savieo explained. "The purpose is to let them know that we celebrate their adoption, we celebrate their family, but also that they will have ongoing support, throughout their lives and throughout the adoption."

Savieo said 1,300 Indiana children have been placed in permanent homes so far this year. She pointed out families who want to adopt can begin the process on a state website to submit an inquiry. According to the state, the average number of days a child in Marion County is in foster care is 378.

The Indiana Department of Child Service's policy states for a child to be legally adopted, the biological parents' rights have to be terminated. But social media's broad reach has sidestepped the requirement and helped some birthparents find their children. Savieo noted research has shown the importance of keeping some contact with a child's biological family, but the adoptive parents can decide if they want to encourage contact.

"Sometimes it is in the child's best interest, if it can be done safely, so that they can really work to marry their past with their present," Savieo noted. "But the law does not require contact."

In 2016, then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a bill granting people born between 1941 and 1993 access to their adoption records and original birth certificates. It did not take effect until 2018, giving birthparents time to sign a form to prevent releasing their identifying information.

The state's website lists the most common reasons for an adoptee to seek out their biological family as curiosity, to gain medical or family information and to learn the reasons behind the adoption.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to codify the Chevron Deference into law. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

The Gender Shades project revealed facial recognition performed poorest for darker-skinned women, and performed best for lighter-skinned men. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021