Emma's agency unapproved to arrange adoptions. Can we keep i

[oscar]

oscar wrote:

Giving this one its own thread, in case dox get it axed:

Emma posted an email from another adoptive parent on her now-closed Haitian adoption blog, about what to expect when she is in Haiti. This email mentions the names Barbara, Vera and Nelta. "Barbara" is mentioned in multiple other entries.

Googling these names plus "Haitian adoption" takes me here:

adoptionharmony.com/haiti-adoption/ - "Foyer de la Nouvelle Vie under the liaison team of Barbara Walker and Vera Valdivia"

and here: reachouttohaiti.com/

It seems like a lot of people have good things to say about Walker, but that approval is not universal.

This thread contains two anecdotes from 1997 and 2001 - "Barbara Walker, the woman who arranged the adoption, incorrectly completed a form to sever the boy's ties from his biological parents."

http://webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti-arch ... 02484.html

Similarly, in a story written by a missionary entitled "A Boy Named Kerwin," the birth parents of a special-needs child "showed no sign of fighting to stop the adoption." They, along with "shifting arbitrary rules," are portrayed merely as impediments to the adoption, which was facilitated by Walker..

Finally, from Emma's blog, we know Lovelie had a living father. And given the fucked-up shit Emma posted on "the ups and downs of adoption" in January 2009 - see here (dead link) freejinger.yuku.co...rong-Quiver#reply-184354 - WHY the HELL would anyone place children with a woman who wrote about them in this manner?

Edited to add link and amend title to something less rageful and more informative.

robertposteschild wrote:

Nothing to add, but strongly feel the agency should be investigated. Would Kathryn Joyce be interested, I wonder?

oscar wrote:

The always-awesome clarinetpower has been digging up cached versions of Emma's blogs:

Here's a link to the RadChallenge cache:

<>

Here's a link to the StrongQuiver cache:

<>

oscar wrote:

I wonder. There seems to be a definite stench of harms being carried out under the guise of Christianity about this whole thing. In the Adoption FAQ on Walker's site:

reachouttohaiti.com/?page_id=41

And yet I can find little information about homestudy requirements or post-placement follow-up.

In the sidebar, there is this information for parents looking to adopt through Walker's agency:

Would it be worthwhile to send information to NY CFS?

Kathryn31 wrote:

If it keeps crazies such as Emma from adopting these poor kids then I vote yes.

RAD MYTH wrote:

White people who adopt Black kids from majority Black countries and then claim that those kids have "Reactive Attachment Disorder" just because they are "looking at us funny" = clueless White folk with WMBS - White Man's Burden Syndrome.

lovefromgirl wrote:

If you think it is, I have a contact in OCFS. I can ask her if it'd be okay to get in touch.

oscar wrote:

lovefromgirl, pm me?

Alecto wrote:

This might be another avenue:

http://www.ethicanet.org/

Koala wrote: (06/10/11 18:54:56)

Absolutely.

oscar wrote: (06/10/11 19:14:56)

OK, let's do this. I'd love to crowdsource some expertise from people who have more experience than I do with these agencies, and hit people up for screengrabs.

Does anyone have content from Emma's defunct Haitian adoption advocacy blog - childs-voice.blogspot.com/ ? I didn't break the link because it's set to private.

[oscar]

Rosa wrote: (06/10/11 19:21:21)

Thank you so much for bottomlining this, oscar. It's definitely worth doing.

What the FUCK is with these people calling kids with parents "orphans" anyway?

Alecto wrote: (06/10/11 19:22:31)

Just a suggestion, but we might want to host copies of the screen grabs at multiple sites.

oscar wrote: (06/10/11 19:25:22)

Alecto, that seems prudent. I've got some content saved locally - most of it is pulled from Google Reader post-flounce.

RAD MYTH wrote: (06/10/11 19:33:55)

What?

They took kids who had parents who wanted them????

Then brought them to a foreign country with a different language, different culture and different racial majority and tossed these kids off to their friends when the kids "looked at us funny" and used Haitian swear words????

We need to get LAW ENFORCEMENT on Emma's ass!

Rosa wrote: (06/10/11 19:36:48)

I don't know if it was Emma's kids - other stories in the comments mentioned bio parents not signing the paperwork to lose their kids. NOT ORPHANS. Kids with poor parents.

demgirl wrote: (06/10/11 19:55:51)

I think developing one coherent letter with evidence of screencaps and other documentation should be crafted (perhaps as sort of a 'group project' - I am willing to help in any way I can) and then sent to multiple groups/organizations, including the New York agency, the Ethica organization, reporters, etc.

fundiefan wrote: (06/10/11 20:00:47)

That was one of the big issues that came to light and was scrutinized after the earthquake and contributed to the halting of adoptions from Haiti for a while. Kids with poor parents were adopted out to foreigners, often under pressure. Post earthquake, it was apparently rampant. Those parents and kids were separated by the disaster for one reason or another and unscrupulous 'agencies' sent those kids off to foreign lands in quite a hurry and never bothered with the rights of their actual parents.

eaglemom wrote: (06/10/11 21:24:39)

I will be happy to pass along those screen grabs and collaborate on something. These comments brought to mind this article:

http://www.slate.com/id/2217608/ about the adoption racket.

oscar wrote: (06/11/11 02:37:41)

Fundiefan, from Emma's blog, it appears that Lovelie's mother was deceased but her father was still alive. However, Emma seems to have been provided some misinformation regarding Lovelie, so who knows how true that was.

oscar wrote: (06/11/11 03:00:44)

demgirl - and anyone else who wants to contribute - that's fantastic. Here's what I think we should put together - any input is welcome:

(1) a cover letter concisely outlining the concerns raised by this sad situation regarding Barbara Walker's work as an adoption facilitator

(2) excerpts from Emma's blogs that motivate these concerns

(3) as much information as we have on Emma's deleted online writing, as supplemental information

I'll follow up on some leads regarding to whom this content should be directed within NY CFS.

Can I just say how much I love FJ? You guys rock.

[oscar]

jaelh wrote: (06/11/11 03:15:18)

Few children up for adoption are. In any country. I don't know about other countries systems, but while the US tends to let wackjobs adopt internationally, they're pretty good about bringing down the iron fist when they think there is corruption in the system. In a number of questionable countries, they take DNA from relinquishing mothers to make sure the right person is giving consent.

But yes. That - in and of itself - isn't the be all and end all. There are many parents that think their child is going to a "better" life, or quite simply, cannot cope/provide - so they relinquish. Obvious example - most of the influx of Chinese daughters of the past 20 years had bio parents. Consider the children in the Romanian institutions in the 80s.

Indeed, most children adopted in the west have (a) bio parent(s) who either cannot care for their children or have decided someone else can better provide; it's the same everywhere.

I don't know. It always surprises me when people are surprised these kids have families. Of course they have families. Most people do. It's also fair to point out that it's not just orphans who needs homes, or love. By any means.

(I know, there is a whole lot of stuff to unpack on the trafficking; but leaving that aside, and assuming everyones motives are pure.. Even then, few if any orphans.)

nailhead wrote: (06/11/11 07:17:17)

Emma has posted comments on a lot of blogs with the handle mcmillan4him. Google results:

http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourc ... millan4him

Maybe digging through some of this will be enlightening.

justlurking wrote: (06/11/11 07:20:49)

I think we should also have someone investigate the agency that keeps allowing Voddie Baucham to adopt kids. If he couldn't adopt through the state of Texas because of their concerns about his parenting techniques, there's no way in hell that any private agency should be allowed to greenlight his nonsense! We have copies of Voddie's sermons where he's telling people that to parent biblically they may need to beat their child 5 times before breakfast--if they don't exhibit first time obedience. He also talks about beating children for being shy!

While Voddie may not be abusing his children, his preaching and instruction to other parents certainly creates the perfect environment for other people to believe they are parenting biblically when they abuse. Add to all that the fact that he also recommends this agency because they don't have as strict criteria (other than being married and Christian) when it comes to giving children away.

GolightlyGrrl wrote: (06/11/11 07:22:46)

Some of these sketchy adoption agencies remind me of the quack who implanted batshit Nadya Suleman with a fuckton of embryos.

MuseMama wrote: (06/11/11 08:00:16)

Blah blah blah blah blah.

Kathryn31 wrote: (06/11/11 08:32:54)

I wonder if they were ever truly licensed for intl' adoption in the first place.

oscar wrote: (06/11/11 12:07:00)

Kathryn31, that's a very good question.

Here's my first draft for a cover letter to NY CFS - I welcome any suggestions:

Each bracketed number corresponds to an excerpt from Emma's writing that supports these assertions. It's been suggested that I send this information to NY CFS by email and also by postal mail - in the latter case, I am going to burn as much cached content as I can assemble to a CD and send it as an electronic supplement.

It's a shame there doesn't seem more to do, but at least we can contribute to a paper trail against these people in NY.

persuaded wrote: (06/11/11 12:32:07)

Oscar... excellent letter. I like your clear objective tone.

I live in NY state, and might I suggest a call to the CPS hotline first. Typically, any CPS contact here has to go through the hotline before authorities are allowed to take action. Granted this isn't a typical CPS call and it's not the same as if you were requesting a welfare check or something, but I think touching base with the "first line" might be a good starting point. Best case scenario, they'll be able to give you a specific office to direct your letter to... or maybe even a specific individual.

Wait, I just remembered that I have a friend who actually works for CPS at the state level... let me touch base with her and see what she thinks. Do I have your permission to copy and paste your letter if she requests it?

demgirl wrote: (06/11/11 12:39:16)

I'm doing that now. She actually posted her email address on some of the blogs, which I don't get. Why do people do that? But I have no desire to email her or communicate with her in any manner. I just want her, that agency and everyone involved investigated and I want to know that the little girl is alright. I will keep looking.. she seems to have posted all over the place trying to get other bloggers to email her and visit her Haitian adoption site.

Last Edited By: demgirl 06/11/11 12:43:15. Edited 1 times.

lovefromgirl wrote: (06/11/11 12:49:53)

This isn't CPS action as we'd normally think of it. No child in New York State is directly in danger; we're seeking to prevent that possibility. My contact has been by, is horrified, and has assured me that, if we send the information to OCFS--Oscar has the pertinent details--it will be logged. There's not much to do in NYS except ensure that this organization is known to the people who approve agencies.

[oscar]

oscar wrote: (06/11/11 13:00:37)

persuaded, you are more than welcome to share this letter with anyone who might be able to help. I'm formatting some excerpts from Emma's writing to go along with the letter, and I'll be happy to share that too. lovefromgirl, thanks so much for following up on this with your contact. That was incredibly helpful.

It's hard to write about this situation objectively, but I don't want us to be discounted as ranting nutjobs from the internet.

Here is cached content from another of Emma's blogs, rothcommunity.blogspot.com/

<>

Her connection with Walker's organization is unambiguous.

oscar wrote: (06/11/11 13:04:10)

demgirl, that's fantastic. If you turn up anything that might be of interest to CFS, please let me know so I can compile it with the rest of this material.

persuaded wrote: (06/11/11 13:10:11)

Thanks Oscar☺ I'll PM you if I need a copy of the letter.

demgirl wrote: (06/11/11 13:12:54)

I love the letter, but I think as long as you're doing all the work, let's send copies to several places, like the ethica organization Austin found, the local newspapers in Emma's town, maybe Nancy Grace is a good idea -- this seems like her type of issue, the local CPS department for this woman, etc. If you need any help with postage or copying costs, let me know by PM and I will help all I can.

Ethica

P.O. Box 7544

Arlington, VA 22204

CNN/Nancy Grace: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form11e.html

Children's Defense Fund

25 E Street NW

Washington, D.C. 20001

North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC)

970 Raymond Avenue, Suite 106

St. Paul, MN 55114

<>(ran a story about the adoption when it occurred)

http://www.currypilot.com/Submit-a-news-tip (this paper has written about their family at least twice)

Since the agency is in New York, I would suggest we contact journalists there too.:

Albany Times Union: Mailing Address: Box 15000, News Plaza, Albany NY 12212. And,

To send a news tip, suggest story coverage or submit news of your community, contact our editors at:

* Local News: tucitydesk@timesunion.com.

* Business: tubusiness@timesunion.com.

* Sports: tusports@timesunion.com.

* Life/Features: tufeatures@timesunion.com.

The New York Times: news-tips@nytimes.com

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS...se/cps/cw_branches.shtml

twin2 wrote: (06/11/11 13:20:55)

If you happen to have a screen capture of her post where she threatened not to feed Lovelie if she kept coming into the house, it might be good to include that in the letter.

NothingLeftToLose wrote: (06/11/11 13:35:43)

Another thought - one of my children adopted from Foster care crossed state lines (meaning the child was a resident of a state other then mine) and that means the ICPC has to be involved.

If her children crossed state lines - it becomes a ICPC case (interstate compact on placement of children)

If we found out that she "placed" them in another state that is an entire different ball of wax.....

oscar wrote: (06/11/11 14:08:10)

demgirl, thanks for compiling that list! It will be easy to revise the cover letter as appropriate for each media outlet and agency. I pulled a copy of the post you mentioned from Google's cache (post-flounce) and I will certainly include it.

NothingLeftToLose, one hopes the local CPS will look into that - I have no idea. The post-placement photos of Justus don't seem to provide any information on that.

persuaded wrote: (06/11/11 16:41:17)

Oscar, I just heard back from my friend. She said (in part)

"Where is the adoption agency located in NY this would depend on which regional office would handle it. Once i know where the agency was I will give you a name and number of who to speak about the adoption. Every regional office has an Adoption Specialist that handles these kinds of complaints."

I've just emailed her the agency's address, when I hear back from her with the name of the Adoption Specialist I'll pm you the contact info.

Koala wrote: (06/11/11 17:46:41)

What kind of human being tells their child they aren't allowed to come into the house? What kind of human being uses food as a punishment?

This woman is the scum of the earth. The absolute scum of the earth.

RAD MYTH wrote: (06/11/11 18:05:52)

Someone who follows Attachment Therapy "Guru" Nancy Thomas's advice to withhold food from adopted children so that they learn to depend on you for everything, even their survival, and in that way create a "survival bond" with you.

She also advices a diet of simply PBJs (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches).

For decades she falsely diagnosed all adopted children brought to her with RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder). When she came under legal fire for that, she invented something called just "attachment disorder" so that she could go on guru-ing to desperate parents who were looking for help and were willing to pay anything, even Nancy's exhorbitant fees, to bring about a bond between them and their adopted kids.

Read more about how this quackery has infiltrated the adoption and foster-care world here;

[sPAM LINK REMOVED]

Rosa wrote: (06/11/11 18:18:22)

Jaelh, I knew that - but that same post referred to the kids as orphans. In the same paragraph with the info about the bio parents!

lovefromgirl wrote: (06/11/11 18:29:56)

I was only "hers" for money ~8 hours a day, but in the dead of an Upstate winter, my sitter pulled that shit on me. You don't do that to anyone's children.

...and my parents wonder why I still don't trust them?

emmiedahl wrote: (06/11/11 20:01:07)

I actually coordinated a conference with Nancy Thomas and her daughter as keynote speakers. I was obviously not aware at the time of her controversialness (not a word, I know). She was heavily requested by the foster/adopt parents we worked with at the time. She said stuff that made me raise my eyebrows, along with a lot of common sense advice. It's like the Pearl's: mixing medicine with poison.

[RAD MYTH]

OSCAR: "Finally, from Emma's blog, we know Lovelie had a living father. And given the fucked-up shit Emma posted on "the ups and downs of adoption" in January 2009 - see here http://freejinger.yuku.co...rong-Quiver#reply-184354 - WHY the HELL would anyone place children with a woman who wrote about them in this manner?"

Oscar, that link is not working. I'd like to read that. How can I?

[Black Aliss]

Also, for far less than the cost of adopting and raising a Haitian child you could support her and her entire extended family in Haiti, keeping the family intact. If you really cared about the child, that is.