Sonya was placed in Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services’ care when she was just one year old. David and Kim Hodgins became her foster parents and raised her for eight years. Now nine years old, Sonya has been removed from her foster parents –- the people she calls “Mom and Dad,” and has been returned to her biological father.
In 2005, Sonya’s nanny took her across state lines to Tennessee. She was left in Tennessee and when her father didn’t show up for a custody hearing, was turned over to the DCS. Soon after, her biological father went to jail. With her biological father in jail for years, the Hodgins family sought to adopt Sonya. But state laws claim that biological parents have rights. Once John McCaul (Sonya’s biological father) was free from prison, he petitioned to have her back in his custody and he won.
Sonya’s foster parents promised her, when she was leaving, that they would never give up, but would continue to fight for her until her return. But it’s not looking like that will happen. Legally, Sonya is where she belongs.
