Baby's death shocks experts on adoption The intensive screening process is intended to weed out people who might be poor parents

Portland Press Herald (ME)

Author: JOSIE HUANG Staff Writer

Denise Nelson reacted to the alleged shaking death of a baby boy at the hands of his adoptive mother last month with horror - and not a little shock.

Having adopted two children with her husband, the Gorham resident said "it surprised me that an adoptive parent would do that - knowing how much effort it is to adopt, the cost, the time, the commitment, and how carefully everybody is screened."

Criminal background checks, requests for references and home visits by adoption-agency workers that can span months are just a few of the items on an exhaustive list that must be ticked off before a Maine resident can adopt a child.

But the charge of manslaughter leveled against Sarah Allen of Lisbon Falls this week has raised questions about how her 22-month-old son, Nathaniel, whom police say died from head injuries, came to be placed in her home.

The state Department of Human Services has said Allen and her husband used an out-of-state private agency to adopt Nathaniel, who came from Guatemala. It is not clear if a Maine agency was hired to help screen the family. Because of confidentiality rules, agencies in Maine say they will not disclose adoption records.

Those involved in Maine's adoption services, however, defend the screening process used in the state, calling it one of the most rigorous in the country. But, they add, caseworkers can only do so much.

"Unfortunately with adoption, you can't make guarantees," said Judy Berry, a Gorham attorney specializing in adoption. "Who knows what happens when someone reaches the end of their rope and something awful happens to the child?"

Child-abuse experts stress that there is no surefire way to predict whether a parent - biological or adoptive - will abuse a child.

"There is no parent who could not possibly be at risk of hurting their child at some point," said Kate Stern, executive director of the York County Child Abuse and Neglect Council based in Kennebunk.

Stern said that risk factors include a family history of substance abuse or domestic violence, lack of a support network and a change in economic status. But sometimes none is present. Both she and Berry said there is no indication that abuse occurs more frequently in adoptive families.

Nationally, screening of would-be parents is intensive, but the process in Maine is even more so, experts say.

While most states call for a check of the individual's criminal history within the state, prospective parents in Maine must be fingerprinted and entered into a national FBI database, Berry said.

In Maine, the probate court is also required to have a home study in its file before an adoption decree can be issued, said Greg Foltz, executive director of St. Andre's Home Inc., an adoption agency based in Biddeford.

The requirement ensures that the family has been interviewed numerous times and deemed to be fit parents, though Foltz said familial adoptions are exempt from the requirement.

An extra level of scrutiny is given to people pursuing international adoptions. They must fill out reams of paperwork to show both the federal government and their would-be child's country that they are capable of providing for the child. Most countries demand at least one post-placement visit by a caseworker to ensure the child's well-being.

Some agencies like Foltz's go beyond what is required. For instance, his agency asks prospective parents to write autobiographies that "help them understand a little better why they want to adopt."

The entire process, Foltz said, is "very extensive and most biological parents like myself would have a tough time sitting still for all of it."

Foltz said the manslaughter case surrounding Allen does not reflect negatively on the adoption-services community in Maine, which he called "conscientious and very thorough."

"Overall, we have a very strong, positive attitude in this state toward adoption," he said. "That's why I think the story shocks everybody."

"I think the issue isn't the adoptive part," Nelson said. "The issue is abuse of the child."

Josie Huang can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:

jhuang@pressherald.com