Thanks KimKim!
A local adoption agency accused of urging a teen mother to run away from home last year has been cited by the state for several violations regarding the adoption process and its state license will be reviewed, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said Friday.The state began investigating A Child’s Waiting in Copley Township in December after a Canton couple claimed that the agency told their 17-year-old daughter to run away so it would be easier to give up her then-4-month-old child without her parents’ interference.
State investigators concluded that there was no evidence that Stephanie Bennett was asked to leave home. But the agency was cited for numerous procedural and paperwork violations that could jeopardize its license because it has a history of similar citations, state records show.
The agency also failed to submit acceptable plans detailing how it would make sure the violations don’t occur again, the state said.
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Stephanie ran away from home and handed over the baby while she was staying in Carroll County. She now says she regrets the decision and has accused the agency of not providing adequate counseling. She is fighting in court to regain custody.It’s unclear how the state investigation may affect the custody case. A message seeking comment was left with Stephanie’s attorney.
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According to state investigative reports, Stephanie accused her parents of abusing her and her child and said that was why she decided to put Evelyn up for adoption. The allegation of abuse had not been made public before.
source: Beacon Journal | 05/05/2007 | State cites agency used in adoption
Interesting that they’re now saying she was accusing her parents of abusing her as well as Evelyn in which case I can only assume that the guidance counselor — as a mandated reporter — put down the adoption agency brochure and called the authorities.
You know, if Stephanie did make that accusation, that’s still no reason to push her towards the adoption. That’s reason to get Evelyn AND Stephanie someplace safe. Basically I’m saying that this new information doesn’t change my feelings about the ethics of this case — in fact it makes me feel more strongly that Stephanie Bennet’s rights weren’t honored.
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I had read before that she had accused them of abuse and said that was the reason she couldn’t confide in them about wanting to pursue adoption.
Frankly there are so many questionable things in this whole thing, on everyone’s part, including Stephanie’s. If there had been a 30 day revocation period, it would have solved a ton I think. Maybe she wouldn’t have processed the whole thing by then, I don’t know.
This agency really needs to be out of business. They did the whole Barbara Walters thing. They didn’t protect the mother in that one at all.
It was incredibly refreshing to see that the State of Ohio took note of this situation and appears to be doing something about it. The article noted they’ve been cited seven times already – that’s significant, I think. But then again, I wonder how many times any agency has been cited – none is going to air any dirty laundry, so even those we think are ethical may not be.
I wonder if any action has been taken regarding the counselor that gave Stephanie the information.
I actually wondered about the parents originally. The guidance counselor told her to *run away* which I thought may have meant that she really needed to get herself and her baby out of there, and since she is a teenager, she thought she had to give her baby up to do that. Who knows…but I agree with you, get them both safe and then decide what to do.
I’m not defending the guidance counselor, who handled things very badly, obviously.