Mother whose daughter was killed in foster care organizes rally

By Margy Lynch KATU News and KATU.com Staff

BEAVERTON, Ore. - Her 4-year-old daughter was beaten to death while living in foster care in Mexico and now a Beaverton woman says she wants to use her loss to save other children.

Tausha Cram is organizing a rally in Salem on April 20 to send a message to state lawmakers that Oregon should stop sending kids to other countries for adoption. She said it's a move that would have saved her daughter's life.

Adrianna Romero Cram was beaten to death in June 2005 after the State of Oregon placed her in the custody of an aunt and uncle on her father's side.

The two lived in Mexico and were in the process of adopting the girl. Oregon's Department of Human Services did monthly phone checks with the couple but did not visit them in person.

Cram said her daughter's preschool teachers were reporting that the little girl showed up to school bruised and burned and that welfare officials in Mexico did not act. Then, on June 13, the girl ended up dead.

Cram, who admits she signed off her parental rights so her daughter would be safe and well cared for, says all she has to remember her little girl by is an urn filled with ashes.

The State of Oregon says they have already made some changes. Right now, they are not sending any kids in their custody to other countries for adoptions. Once they do, they say they will do improved home studies or background checks on adopting families, even if they are relatives of the child they are adopting.