The Fight for Tamia: Adoption's "Dark Side"?

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D But I hope DCFS doesn't make them jump through a bunch of hoops to get her back. :( Why couldn't that judge just rule the termination of Tamia's mom's rights was invalid, so that Tamia could just be handed right back to her? He took the chicken's way out... None of this REALLY takes a stand on the issue of how the bio mom's rights were violated... Now I guess mom and grandma will have to go through a kinship homestudy and possibly re-adopt her?? Oh well. Just glad Tamia is back with her mom and grandma. :D :D And as for the agency... hope they go bankrupt. And whoever did those people's homestudy, too, if it was a different agency or social worker.

Oh, I see. Utah DCFS has Tamia now, because of course THEY had to remove her from her adoptive parents when they got arrested. So of course Utah DCFS has to give her to Illinois DCFS. Phew.

Since most of the news coverage was centered around the court contest I was confused on some pts. I am VERY glad Carmen & her family got her baby back! :D Ok, this Police Log report clarified some things for me...so I thought I'd share it. The baby was considered missing originally. Carmen wanted to change her mind in 7 days - on the record & she'd parented for 2 months at time of relinquishment (I think). Missing 3-month-old turns up healthy - and newly adopted - in Utah Missing baby Tamia Jonne Hemphill NEW ORLEANS (Dec. 9, 2004) A daylong search for a missing 3-month-old girl - the daughter of a Chicago woman who arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday - came to an end this afternoon after the missing infant was located health - and adopted - in Utah. The search for Tamia Jonne Hemphill of Harvey, Ill. (south side of Chicago), began late Wednesday, after the 20-year-old mother - Carmen McDonald - called police from the corner of LaSalle and Washington. She telephoned the NOPD, because she apparently was ֓lost, police said. Officers responded brought the woman to the Sixth District station for further assistance. During the interview with the 20-year-old, investigators contacted her mother in Chicago, Maria McDonald. Questions were raised by the mother as to the whereabouts of her 3-month-old granddaughter - who who was not found in the care and custody of Carmen McDonald. The grandmother said she last saw her granddaughter in Chicago on Dece. 1. Investigators questioned Carmen McDonald, who they described as incoherent, as to the whereabouts of her child. During the interview, the woman gave several conflicting accounts: ԓShe gave the baby to some people, she gave the baby to an aunt; or she put the baby up for adoption. In each of the accounts, she could not give names or contact telephone numbers for verification. Investigators did find clothing bags containing baby clothes, the childԒs birth certificate, photographs and other documents to indicate she was in possession of an infant. Due to the womans mental state, investigators transported her to the Medical Center of Louisiana for a psychiatric evaluation. They did confirm that Carmen McDonald did depart from Chicago via Greyhound bus on Tuesday (Dec. 7), 2004, stopped in Memphis, Tenn., and arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday morning. It is undetermined, at this time, whether she exited the bus with the child. Late Thursday afternoon, investigators confirmed that 3-month-old Tamia was been located in Midvale, Utah. Child Abuse Detective Patrick Young and Medical Center of Louisiana Representative Diane Angelico tracked the childҒs information and discovered that the mother brought the baby to Utah on Dec. 2 for the purpose of relinquishing parental rights and to have the child adopted by a family. The adoption process was conducted by a legitimate adoption agency, police said, and the infant is currently with a family and in good health. As a result of the verification, the NOPD considers the case closed.

Glad to see all is resolved and this didn't drag out. Nic, I resent the mental illness statement as well. I'm extremely bi-polar/manic depressive, I also post-traumatic stress syndrome and ADD. I take medication for it, so that I can live a normal life, and CAN make decisions on my own. I even hope to have more children someday, but is she saying I don't have the right to because of chemical imbalances out of my control??

*raises hand* I'm another bi-polar, with obsessive-compulsive disorder. I'm also a mother, and a d@mn good one at that :D I'm not currently on medication, but am learning as I go along how to deal with my illnesses. I know my limits and try to never take on more than I cna handle. (one of the MANY reasons for placing bdaughter, knew I wasn't ready!)

I hope that there is some additional follow-up surrounding this case. For instance, is there going to be an investigation into the practices of the agency involved given thier volation of the Interstate Compact? Tamia's return is wonderful, but what about the mother's and babies that will follow... :(

Wow, what a situation! When I made my first post there was not so much out there to read about this, I am glad to see that a fuller story has been represented. My prayers go out to baby Tamia & her mom & grandmom, sounds like the best situation that she is safe home with them. Makes you wonder how agencies get away with such stuff. I am an adoptive mom to 3 children, but we never used an agency (independent adoption) & ours are all open with plenty of visits and such. While I am happy to have my children in my life, I could NEVER imagine going about an adoption in such a way. This story makes it easy to see that not everyone goes about adoption with the best interests of the child in place. If anyone knows of a fund, maybe through their church, to help Tamia's grandmom pay for her legal expenses please post the info, many of us out here would like to help.

peanut, I wrote one of the reporters for that info. I'll PM you if they respond. Maia

I'm sorry, I don't really see how it's possible that you have friends who are birthmothers. You obviously have NO understanding of us, and no concept of pbparents' ultimate right to parent if they choose. Also, your lack of understanding of the medical conditions lumped under "mental illness" is appalling and insulting, IMO. I'll join the ranks. Your posts offended me deeply.

Hugs Coco - That post you cited and its lack of understanding of the situation is offensive. I agree. Research before speaking... everyone, please. - The MOTHER (she mothered for 2 months) had severe depression. I think 90% of the human population has been there. Postpartum depression compouned it. - Reportedly she did think about the decision on her flight to Utah. She changed her mind before signing. She was threatened by the agency director, stranded in a strange land with a baby. That IS frightening to many people I know, both young and old. That is coercion. - Then, her baby coerced from her care, scared to tell her family, she fled to visit relatives in New Orleans, where the beginnings of the legal fight began. Scary that the agency had no regard that the child should have stayed with its mother whom she had known all her life. Funny too, cuz had the agency been protecting a newborn placement that is just the argument they prefer to maintain the adoption... Maia

Funny, isn't it? They coerce the child's MOTHER into signing papers to place Tamia with KNOWN DRUG OFFENDERS? The irony is astounding.

OK: I got the info for the Save Tamia fund, if anyone's interested... let me know here or on PM (cleaning that out now too). Happy Easter maia

How in the heck is a baby placed with drug users? Dont they screen for those things? If this child was placed with known drug users then it logically follows than many other babies are placed with parents who are not screened effectively. Not good.

I am very happy for the McDonalds now that they have Tamia back. As for the agency placing her with drug users, I am perplexed, too. You would think they would be screening adoptive parents more carefully. This agency needs to held accountable for both its coercive tactics with Tamia's birth mother and placement of her with this couple. Maia - any additional info regarding Tamia's fund?

Seems to me like this agency isn't looking for the child's best interest, but their best interest $$ wise. Sounds like they'll approve anybody who has the money. That's sad.