Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Adoption

This is topic Adoption in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/writers/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000520

Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :

How would one go about adopting a seven to ten-year-old boy found in the wilderness and covered with blood? I imagine there would be some sort of investigation into why he was left there and why he's bloody, but I know nothing about either police tactics or legal adoption.

Chris.

Posted by HopeSprings (Member # 1533) on :

Tell me this is hypothetical, please . . .

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

It's for a story, duh!

It depends on the state and county that has jurisdiction. First they have to process the kid through emergency services, then establish that the child has no family. During this time he might be fostered out to the person[s] that found him, particularly in a rural area. But check the information for the actual county and state (or a similar county, if you are making up a location) on what they do with abandoned children (most places have a special foster care program for abandoned/neglected children).

Once it has been established that the boy is abandoned adoption would be pretty straightforward (compared to trying to adopt a newborn or a child that has a known parent).

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Survivor, please don't say things like "duh!" in the way you did in your previous post.

Of course it should have been obvious that Chris was asking about a story, but people have brought up questions here (that they shouldn't have) on things not related to stories; and while I have tried to discourage such questions, they do come up from time to time.

Posted by HopeSprings (Member # 1533) on :

Thank you, Kathleen, for the quick defense.

Obviously, it's for a story, Survivor. However, many stories are based on real happenings in the real world.

Hence my question.

Chris - are we talking current time period or past?

Posted by SiliGurl (Member # 922) on :

I would think that it also might depend on the person who found the kid. For example, in a rural community, if the Finder was say the sherriff or something like that, or perhaps worked as one of the Kid Guardian things (not sure what they're actually called, but it's a volunteer position in which you act as the child's legal guardian during child abuse cases). Hope that helps.

Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :

This is of course for a story, but I slapped myself on the head when I realised that I made no mention of it in my first post. Having reread it, it realized that it did sound somewhat macabre, and for that, I apologize. The boy was covered in blood as part of an arcane ritual designed to change a fundamental part of his character, something the antagonists believe to be a flaw. . .the damn fools.

As for the timeline question, the boy is my protagonist, but he's all grown up now, so this was fifteen or so years ago, and he was found by a writer (I always manage to fit the craft into most of my stories; I'm Stephen King influenced, I guess. Many of his main characters were writers) who was out hunting with their dog, Spaceman Spiff...can I do that?

Perpetually displaying his purplexing naivete,

Chris

[This message has been edited by cvgurau (edited February 04, 2003).]

Posted by HopeSprings (Member # 1533) on :

So, timeline wise this "happened" in the present, not the past?

If in the present, call your local child protective services - they will have a packet of info for you that details this sort of thing, and your local police dpt would also have info for the process on their side of things -

I figure the best source for this info would be the professionals themselves -

[This message has been edited by HopeSprings (edited February 04, 2003).]

Posted by Hildy9595 (Member # 1489) on :

Sadly, I have some experience in this area, having been heavily involved in a case where my nieces had to be taken from their mother.

The guardian Siligurl is referring to is the guardian ad lietem (sp?), who is assigned by the local childcare agency (DYFS or whatever) to oversee the children's placement in foster care or with a relative. While the rules differ from state to state, and I think the suggestion to request a packet of info from the true pros is your best bet, it is indeed possible that your writer might get the child. Assuming neither the parents nor any family members, however remote, can be found, the child would become a ward of the state and would live in foster care with the option of being adopted just like any other orphan. However, the length of time until that adoption completes varies widely...although this does not necessarily put a crimp in your story. Even if it takes years, the writer could be named the foster parent and the child could live with him/her, so long as the state approves him/her as a foster parent in the first place. And, believe me, it is almost ridiculously simple to become a foster parent...hence the extensive instances of neglect and abuse of foster children.

I hope this helps. Again, check out DYFS or whatever the child welfare agency is in the state in which you are setting your story. Sometimes the info is on their web site.

Good luck with the story! It certainly has an intriguing premise.

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

Sorry about the "Duh!" I should have said "let's always make it a rule to assume that people are asking about writing." That's closer to what I meant.

Posted by HopeSprings (Member # 1533) on :

That's okay - one of the things I enjoy around here is the feedback I receive so I can learn to be more clear in what I am saying/asking.

The correct spelling is "guardian ad litem" and their duties, responsibility and power vary by state.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Survivor, I'm in favor of that rule as a corollary to the rule that people be sure to ask about writing. (Neither of which is posted anywhere explicitly--they're supposed to be understood from the name of the forum, the names of the discussion areas, etc.)

Posted by HopeSprings (Member # 1533) on :

You are both right - I should just assume that anything brought up on this particular forum relates to writing and go from there.