A Mother in Ohio is Fighting to get her Newborn Back from an Adoption Agency

So this hit the local NBC News station in Columbus, Ohio today. I would have really liked it they had mentioned that Adoption by Gentle Care had been previously involved in another disputed adoption case: Grayson Vaughn, but  whatever. Meanwhile, they did get some things incorrect. Ignore the “allegedly”, “claims” and all that; they have to do that to cover their butts!

WCMH: News, Weather, and Sports for Columbus, Ohio

“The baby is living with another family”

This is not true as much as we can ascertain. We know for a fact as it has been verified by several different sources that the original hopeful adoptive family has returned Camden, but do NOT know that AGC has managed to find another family to take on this high risk placement. We know that NBC did ask directly WHERE Camden was and Adoption by Gentle Care could not say, but they did NOT say that he was with another family. I personally feel that if they had another family that they would say so as it makes THEIR case stronger.

“The Agency is very careful about these things.” claims Patrick Hamilton the attorney for Gentle Care.“That is not in the least bit viable. The agency would not have the authority  to turn a child in to Children Services for the purposes of foster care.”

Well  no DOH, Pat! It wasn’t a real option. It was Carri’s Achilles heel The ONE thing that Kelli Shoemaker found that could be used to manipulate Carri to relinquish. Of course, AGC could not send Camden to a foster home via CPS, but they COULD, and possibly have, placed him in temporary housing which, is also referred to as foster care! And if Camden is NOT with his mother or his father or a pre-adoptive placement, then guess what? He IS in FOSTER CARE, so you DID exactly what you said they cannot do!

In fact, even if you did manage to find a couple who is so desperate, so entitled, so non caring and so loaded that they are willing to take on this battle (and again, I don’t believe you have unless you lied to them too and said it was all good and just don’t want US to find them too) he WENT into foster care for some time in between these two pre-adoptive homes! So he either WENT IN and Out or is still In; what matters is what Carri THOUGHT Foster Care meant and that Kelli repeated used that threat to manipulate Carri.

The agency has “trained representatives who stop the adoption if there are  any signs of distress.” or are they trained to move the adoption forward as this very lengthy letter from Scott Mars, owner of American Adoptions  who “bought out”/ financed” AGC, sent to then  AGC Executive Director John Cameron and then distributed to all the adoption workers;

American Adoptions Gentle Care reminders

Is THIS document the “training”? Well Kelli didn’t listen. Really? Sorry.. “stop the adoption”, we KNOW that to be 100% UNTRUE. See, if there was any truth to that then Kelli Shoemaker would have STOPPED the adoption. There were PLENTY of signs of duress that she missed.

• Carri made it clear that she  had no reason to relinquish except upon the wishes of her partner. That’s called coercion and Kelli should have been trained to recognize it and stopped the adoption. How hard would it have been for Kelli to tell Carri to hold up and have the baby first before she made a final decision, that frequently things change after a child is born, to give it time rather than rushing to a permanent solution for what could have been, and was, temporary emotional reactions?
• Carri refused to see Camden; that’s called emotional disassociation and is also NOT a healthy sign. The MAJORITY of adoption professionals know that one must “say hello before you say goodbye” so she missed that huge red flag too.
• Carri was on medication which Kelli not only KNEW about but then told Carri to NOT speak of truthfully or the revocation would not be valid… and is a prime reason why it is NOT valid and was Illegally obtained!
• Carri asked for a closed adoption; who DOES that anymore? Any adoption “professional” worth the air they breath KNOWS that ALL child welfare advocates say that IF an adoption MUST happen, that OPEN adoption is BEST for the child. Yet, that conversation never happened! Kelli never ONCE mentioned that Camden would benefit form knowing his mother. Nope, she just told Carri what to say and do to make this adoption happen quickly and oh so cheaply on the part of gentle Care. I bet they thought they had won the lotto!

No, what Kelli Shoemaker was trained by Adoption by Gentle Care was how to fill her “quotas” for possible birthmothers. I bet Carri was quickly stamped as “QUALITY”; ie; ready to deliver, nice white baby, prenatal care, and completely panicked mother. I wouldn’t be surprised if they applaud her on her “catch” and celebrated after the revoke was obtained.

Now before I go on with what was incorrect in the story, I just have to point out one very telling piece from the eight page document shared above. Just MUST point out how it is stated why “forcing a birthmothers to relinquish is a very bad business model. Now PLEASE sop telling me that adoption is NOT a business!!

And then the self described by AGC Director, Trina Saunders, “raced to the courthouse” is on.

“I understand that Camden was actually adopted and the other family had to give him back?”

NO! Camden was NOT adopted and is still NOT adopted.

He was PLACED in temporary custody to the pre adoptive family and then they must FILE the ADOPTION PETITION to get the legal process started. Until that point they have custody given to them from the adoption agency, nothing more.

And No, the original adoptive family did NOT have to return him, but thank goodness they were moral folks who did not want to be involved in a fight like this and they did the right thing. And I can bet that Adoption by Gentle Care wasn’t the one who warned them of the oncoming “furor” of this “battle’ since I made sure that they knew!

Why did they NOT have their hearts even more broken after 7 weeks of bonding? Because WE made sure they knew the truth since AGC is NOT to be trusted with the “best interests” of ANY side of the adoption community. I can tell you that IF Camden is in another pre-adoptive home, that this set of HAP’s is also being lied to and mislead by AGC about extent of legal risk on this placement.

Because it MUST be said again; Adoption is SUPPOSED to be about providing a home for a child that NEEDS a home; NOT an adoption agency manipulating the law for their own sick profit driven agendas. When an adoption is ALLOWED to happen like this, then EVERYONE gets hurt.

NBC also got a good quote in the article wrong, as well; attributing the AGC attorney

“[cryout-pullquote align=”left|center|right” textalign=”left|center|right” width=”33%”]It’s in the best interest of the child to be in the home of the biological family[/cryout-pullquote],” Hamilton said.

Nah, it was Carri that said that. Obviously, Pat has the opposing point of view; it’s in the best interest of those adoption fees to be in HIS client’s bank account. Another 30K Ka-ching!

Please keep your eyes out and check comments when possible. We need to help keep this story on track and truthful. It might get posted on the NBC4 facebook page too.

This post was originally written and published on May 19th, 2014.

The date has been changed so that the updates and stories can be read more easily in chronology order.

Please see the main mini site pages on the Unethical Ohio Adoption Agency   pages to continue learning about Carri and Camden’s adoption story and how you can help Bring Camden Home.