Parents of troubled boy adopted from Russia reach settlement with Bethany Christian Services

I totally agree: "...the mini-orphanages, a la mega adoptive famiies?  I'm not convinced they are best for parent OR adoptable child."

Exactly my point.

I would love to know what incentive each SW gets for placing these huge numbers of "special needs" children.  (their definition, not mine)  Surely
not a plaque on the wall...

At first I was FULL of gratitude that someone ?saw? in me the WONDERFUL mother figure for all the SN children of the world!!!  (pardon me while
I gag)...  and then REALITY hit... I was so overwhelmed with the responsibility for so many.  And for a while, "Maslow's theory: Basic needs and safety, first"
was how I thought I was living.  Until I had to make a decision that would affect every one in my family.  Meeting the basic needs and safety of a large adopted
family escalates each time another child is adopted into it. 

"I don't trust adoption agencies that look to place as many children as they can."  And each PAP should be made aware of the consequences that already
exist among these "mini-orphanages, a la mega adoptive families."  Instead, it's hidden so well, that a SW can write to the concerned overseas workers
and state, "OH, my, my, my, THIS family fostered 12 children with all kinds of needs, successfully!"  And the lie is in the word, "successfully."  I was OVERWHELMED!
WHY do you think I went overseas?????? We were all told that we could do this! 

Children from other countries ARE the same as fostering here in the states; same
problems that go back to the fact that they are taken from their first family. 

How arrogant Americans are with their money; thinking they can buy an interest
in Adoption Land and not have taxes to pay.
Teddy

A while ago, a member posted a question about preferential treatment given to those who adopt.

First, she posted a link to a news article that features the story of an Amother who got the news that she was going to receive a new home, via ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

As Beverly Hill sat on a neighbor's couch Sunday afternoon, the morning's news began to sink in: She and her husband of a year, and their six adopted daughters, were going to get a new house.

The pork chops they'd eaten the night before were the last meal cooked in the too-small kitchen. The daughters - who range from 9 to 18 - wouldn't have to share one bathroom anymore. The hiccupping wiring and sagging ceiling in the home on Gentry Road would be gone.

And Ty Pennington, the celebrity carpenter dozens of folks outside were screaming for, was across the street walking in her house.

"This is such a blessing," she said. "This is such a blessing."

Hill; her husband, Fred Burdette; the six girls; and plenty of family members learned Sunday morning at their Norfolk church that they were selected for the new home through "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

That was shortly after their pastor called them to stand in front of the congregation and praised them for their community outreach. Then, he said, "I see your future and it's better than today, and here's why." Then Pennington burst through the church doors. Kenisha Hill, 17, said she'll always remember that moment.

"I was super, super excited!"

It was the third time that Beverly Hill had been nominated for the show, and it was always by people who wanted to reward her for years of giving so much to others.

Hill's daughter Bridget Ramos, one of her two adult biological daughters, remembers her mother taking in foster and needy children, no matter how difficult the cases. Hill nurtured children suffering from shaken baby syndrome, those in body casts mending child abuse injuries, and little ones who could eat only through feeding tubes.

"She was always that caring person," Ramos said.

During the years, Hill couldn't let some of them go, and she adopted them. She's had most since they were babies: Shannell, 18; Kenisha, 17; Sam, 15; Kayla, 14; Chy'na, 13; and Shea, 9.

In addition to helping children, Hill often works with her sister and they routinely feed the homeless.

Neighbor Shirley Cherry had strangers trampling through her yard and crowds in her driveway soaking up the scene Sunday afternoon, but she didn't mind it as long as it was for Hill.

"If I had another person to choose for a daughter," said Cherry, who has four grown children, "she would be it."

[From:  'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' picks Va. Beach family, January 31, 2011 ]

The question asked by a PPL member was not if the woman deserved a reward for years of service....

The question asked was:   

should adoptive parents get free houses? 

if her house was not up to parr should they have let her adopt or foster?

Charity (favor) seems to be given far more freely to those who foster/adopt.... and yet, there are MANY foster/adoptive parents who are not only just as bad as abusive first-parents, some of them are much worse, because they DO exploit the economic benefits given to those "chosen" (approved) to foster/adopt a child (or children) with many complex issues and needs.

Jerks Less than acceptable role model material is getting involved in foster/adoption, (as PPL's Abuse pages prove), and these individuals are making it much harder and worse for those who want to foster/adopt for all the right and good reasons.

My question is this:  How does the adoption industry -- the US government -- help weed-out the jerks, so the more ideal candidates remain?

Right off the bat, I think the FBI could assist the adoption industry by checking candidates who use the internet.  There ARE specialists who monitor childporn activity.  Why can't that be part of the foster/adoptive home-study?  If a fee for this service is necessary, let it be absorbed by the candidate. ICA proves PAP's are not against paying added fees.  Seems to me, the benefits would outweigh the risks:

Last month, a federal jury in San Jose convicted Budziak, 66, of possessing and distributing child pornography. The former letter carrier with no previous criminal history was immediately taken into custody and is facing a minimum of five years in prison when he is sentenced April 25. Budziak is likely to receive a more severe penalty - a common occurrence with federal child pornography prosecutions because the influential U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines typically advise judges to mete out longer sentences than the minimum.

The number of federal child porn cases has exploded during the last 15 years as Congress passed mandatory five-year minimum sentences and federal authorities have declared such investigations a priority.

The FBI has made more than 10,000 arrests since 1996 and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency reports a similar number of arrests since its creation in 2003. The U.S. Department of Justice says prosecutions are up 40 percent since 2006 resulting in roughly 9,000 cases. In 2009, 2,315 suspects were indicted.

Local authorities across the country are also stepping up their child pornography investigations, which often require little more than a technically savvy agent, a high-speed Internet connection and so-called peer-to-peer software that millions of computer owners use to legally - and illegally - swap music, videos and other digital files.

The number of child pornography prosecutions is still dwarfed by drug and immigration cases that flood federal court dockets, but no other crime is growing at the 2,500 percent rate the FBI claims for child porn arrests.

The FBI predicts that the cases will only continue to grow as appeals courts approve their search and seizure methods. The convictions are expected to continue even though a federal judge shut down LimeWire after the recording industry sued the company for copyright infringement.

[From: FBI: Child porn prosecutions soar by 2,500%, February 5, 2011 ]

 If convicted drug users/dealers keeps "unfit" candidates from foster/adoption services, shouldn't convicted child porn users/dealers be eliminated from the adoption pool, as well?  At least then, government agencies, on the state level can put more focus on those trying to scam the system by collecting children (from all over) for the checks and many benefits they (the foster/adopted child) provide.