Saks Pioneers Newborn Nursery Adoption Centers

Last month the Middleton Doll Company announced it will expand its Newborn Nursery® Adoption Centers into five additional Saks Department Stores. "The expansion of this unique award-winning retail concept into additional Saks Incorporated stores will enable many more young girls to experience the 'adoption' of their very own lifelike baby doll in a simulated hospital nursery setting," said George R. Schonath, president and chief executive officer of The Middleton Doll Company. With chubby cheeks, bright eyes, soft hair and an incredibly lifelike face, the Newborn Nursery baby dolls are so realistic they look like a real baby. The Newborn Nursery ...

Shared Custody Battle Goes Federal

Last week a federal lawsuit was filed against the state of Pennsylvania by the Indiana Civil Rights Council and like-minded groups such as the American Coalition for Fathers and Children. These and similar organizations plan to sue all 50 states and U.S. territories. At least 40 suits have already been filed, according to the Council. The lawsuits use a wide range of constitutional grounds to argue that a child's parents both have an equal right to custody and directly challenge the commonly utilized legal standard known as "the best interest of the child." The lawsuits seek $1 million in damages for any plaintiffs who sign on to each class action, ...

Pepe Le Pew? The Commission’s Report on Children in Foster Care

In late May the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care released its final report. The Commission "was charged to develop a practical set of policy recommendations to reform federal child welfare financing and strengthen court oversight of child welfare cases." I must admit that I was and continue to be a bit skeptical about the Commission and its underlying premise. Who exactly charged the Commission with this mission? Who identified "child welfare financing" and "court oversight" as the critical issues facing child welfare and foster care? The Commission was premised on the notion that "current federal funding mechanisms for child welfare ...

Pregnant by God or Blessed for Adoption?

First there was adoption music, then adoption sermons, even adoption recipes, jewelry and an ISP. Adoption.com is a virtual adoption marketplace; everything adoption is for sale except the children. Then the National Center for Lesbian Rights sued Adoption.com for discriminating against same-sex couples. The lawsuit alleges that among other for-profit services, Adoption.com permits prospective adoptive parents to post their personal profiles in hopes of connecting with potential birth mothers. They will not, however, permit same-sex couples to post their profiles. Now adoption art has surfaced on the Adoption.com website which provides interesting ...

Confidential Child Welfare Records Released on the Internet

In another black eye for Florida's child-welfare agency, officials acknowledged that confidential records for nearly 4,000 abused and neglected children were available on the Internet until last week. The files were accessible on the Web site of Kids Central, a privately run child welfare agency. They included the names of foster children, birth dates, Social Security numbers, photographs and case histories. They even provided directions and maps to children's foster homes. Kids Central began phasing in the computer system, called CoBRIS, around April or May. It was designed to let private caseworkers access the state's child welfare computer ...