My name is Christopher Goodson, and the topic I have chosen is adoption. Like many other children around the world I was adopted at the age of 14. I believe childhood is a very important phase and time in each and everyone of our lives. There are many pros and cons that go on in adoptions such as incompetent parenting, exploitation of the system, neglect of policies & procedures and the overall well being of the child. I began to engage and mentor in family law so that children would not have to go through the things that I went through growing up as a ward of the state in the state of Illinois. I am excited to do this project as well as share my story with you all.
Thank You for reading,
Christopher Goodson
References
Adoption in the United
States can be a beautiful thing. Adoption gives parentless children a chance to
become a part of a loving family. Adoption establishes qualified adults as a child’s
new parent. The new parent now takes on the responsibilities of the child as
well as parental rights. The losing parents are deceased, gives up their
parental rights, or their rights are terminated by the courts (Termination of
parental rights, n.d.). During my time as a foster child I never felt
protected. No one ever asked me what I wanted. In this portion of the blog I want
to talk about my experiences and the legality of adoption.
My sibling and I fell
into the care of DCFS at a very young age. We lived in the Robert Taylor homes,
on the south side of Chicago. My father, a high ranking member of the Black Disciples, was in jail on drug and murder charges. I was my father’s only child.
My mother was a drug addict and was never home. On this particular day our home had caught fire, my older brother had fallen asleep while cooking. Emergency service arrived and there was no guardian at the home. There
were 13 children, the oldest being 12 years old. I was placed in the custody of my
grandmother and my siblings were placed in a facility.
My mother had her parental
rights taken away for habitual neglect. We all had eventually ended up separated and in different
foster homes. I frequently moved around a lot because I didn’t fit in or a
violation was found in the home. Some homes were physically abusive, the
guardians would say “If the social worker asks if you get whoopens, tell them
no” and for some reason, I did.
Other homes just took the
money but didn’t take care of our needs. They pocketed the money or spent it on
their own kids. They valued their own kids over the foster child. I barely had
any clothes and, I went to went to bed hungry most nights. The families that
actually treated us well never had enough space for all of us or parts of us. Years
down the road my other sibling were adopted by permanent families. I was the
only foster child left because my father still had his parental rights but he
was in jail.
When my father was released
from jail under special circumstances. One of the terms was house arrest. The
issue had a rose that his name wasn’t on my birth certificate and, he would have
to prove relations in order to receive child custody. A judge would not grant
him movement to take the test and his parental rights had ended up being taken
by the courts for failed appearances and child abandonment. He did have the
chance to prove his paternity. I became an official ward of the state and placed
in another faster home. The Goodson family had already adopted five of my
siblings. I was given paperwork and I was told that the foster family can only
keep me if I signed the papers. I adopted within a month. I child 14 or older must give consent to be
adopted (Adoption
Consent Laws by State, 2016). I was adopted right after my 14th
birthday.
My name was changed the
Christopher Goodson, it was a ruled a closed adoption. I didn’t find out until
later down the line that my new mother was a lawyer and clerk for the judge
that did the adoptions. I also found out that the adoption judge was right next
door to the paternity court judge. I had felt betrayed by the same system that
was supposed to protect me.
References
Adoption
Consent Laws by State. (2016, January 05). Retrieved from
Termination
of parental rights. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://family.findlaw.com/parental-rights-and
liability/termination-of-parental-rights.html
Hey, so the first thing that I am going to tell you is that you should proof read next time. Sometimes while reading I had to just assume that what you meant. The other thing is how you started off your post. It was good information, but next time you should think about adding a hook. Also when it comes to adding sources while writing, you should look into how to do that better if you don't know how to.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I really did enjoy reading about your personal story. The fact that you are brave enough to let people know about this part of your life is really bold. I feel like if it was me I would just want to ignore my past and never talk about it again.
Another thing I want to say is that I am really happy that you were finally able to reconnect with some of your siblings. Also that I am sorry that you feel betrayed by the people who adopted you.
Other than that, I really enjoyed your post, and can't wait to read another one.
I am glad someone chose to do the topic of adoption. Adoption has a special place in my heart because my grandfather was adopted into a loving family. I hope to one day be able to adopt a child of my own. I like how you made this post personal and connected it to your own experiences. I think that draws readers in more and catches there attention. This is a better approach than just listing information on the topic. I had heard of foster parents treating their kids poorly but never from a personal story. It makes me sad to learn that. I wish the foster parents who were doing wrong would get caught in their actions and have their rights to be a caregiver taken away.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear about you and your sibling’s experiences growing up. I want to tell you that my roommate’s parents are foster parents and have two young boys living with them that they hope to adopt one day. Those boys lives turned around and they are the happiest things I have ever seen. I hope you do not have feelings of betrayal from every foster family out there because I believe from personal experiences that they are not all the same. I liked reading your post and I look forward to reading future ones.
Marissa Sanford
This is a great topic and I am glad that you are so connected to it and are sharing it with us. I have an older brother who moved out when I was very young. Because of this I have felt like an only child for most of my life. I had conversations with my family about adding a family member into our household possibly through adoption or being a foster home to children in need. However, it fell through most of the times my parents tried. It seems as though something was always wrong with the documentation. It was almost as though they didnt feel that my home was fit for a child in need. I come from a loving family that would be willing to take in any child for the main reason being that my parents as well as I wanted more children. Not for money, or to brag about being good people.
ReplyDeleteIm sorry that you had to go through that as a child, I could not even imagine how much that has impacted your life. I feel as though the system always plays by the rules and the rules are so set in stone that no one can get around them and they don't take into account anyone's feelings or prior history. Im sorry that you were not able to be in your fathers care but I hope that something good came out of this for you. Reading this really makes me think about the legality of adoption and how things dont always work out. Thank you for sharing your story and i cant wait to keep reading more
Alison Baker
Good morning, Chris.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for your courage and willingness , most people aren't able to talk about things like adoption, especially from a personal perspective. I like that how you went mentioned adoption and how it can be a beautiful thing but also being realistic about the process and how heart breaking it can be. You did a great job at highlighting the bittersweet moments with your family explaining how you were adopted. The fact that you were in homes of families that only utilized the money provided by the state for their personal needs instead of taking care of your needs. I usually hear a lot about that type of neglect within the foster care system. I am glad that you prevailed I look forward to reading more about adoption and the positive things adoption agency's have to offer.