Court seeks faster adoptions of foster kids

Court seeks faster adoptions of foster kids
By SHEILA BURKE
Staff Writer

The state warned Sunny and Henry Thomas that this could happen.

The couple had hoped by now to be in the final stages of adopting two
children that the Department of Children's Services placed in their
Williamson County home. They already have five children, three of them
adopted.

But the children's biological mother — whose parental rights were
terminated by a judge — is taking her case to the state Court of
Appeals. The appellate process could take as long as two years. So
far, the couple has waited six anxiety-filled months.

''Even though we feel like the termination will be upheld, there's
still that unknown there,'' Sunny Thomas said. ''And the longer it
drags on, the harder it is on our family, on us, on the kids.''

Under a proposed change by the Tennessee Supreme Court, the wait
wouldn't usually be so long.

The state's highest court has adopted a new rule that would speed up
the appellate process in cases where parental rights have been
terminated.

The rule, which must be ratified by the state legislature, could
significantly reduce the time an abused or neglected child lingers in
foster care waiting to be adopted and speed up the process for
biological parents who think their parental rights were wrongfully
terminated, social workers and court officials said.

Currently, if a parent who has lost parental-rights appeals, it can
take 423 days to get through the state Court of Appeals, DCS
spokeswoman Carla Aaron said. If the parent loses and takes the case
to the state Supreme Court, it will take an additional six months, she
said.

''We think (the wait) is a major impediment to achieving a permanent
home for our kids,'' Aaron said.

Unlike the children with the Thomases, most foster children are not
placed in prospective adoptive homes if their parents are fighting for
parental rights, Aaron said. For children who are stuck in limbo until
cases move through the courts, the process can seem like a lifetime,
she said.

There are about 10,300 children in foster homes in the state, Aaron
said. The biological parents of 62 children are appealing decisions to
terminate their rights, she said.

Speeding up appeals is crucial because children need permanency and
they need it as quickly as possible, said Nashville attorney Bob Tuke,
who has handled many adoptions.

''There's been a statute since 1995 requiring all termination of
parental-rights cases to be expedited and the appeals of those cases
to be expedited,'' he said. ''Has it helped? Not really.''

This is much more significant because the Supreme Court is adopting it
as a rule of appellate procedure, he said.

''The idea of expediting appeals is absolutely critical,'' Tuke said.
''I applaud the judiciary for doing this. The Tennessee Supreme Court
has done a wonderful thing, and I trust the legislature to recognize
that and ratify that.''

If the legislature approves the action, Sunny Thomas said, it will
make it easier on the most important people in the process: the
children. ''I think that the main thing that I want people to know is
that this process is about the children,'' Thomas said. ''It's not
about the birth parents or even the adoptive parents; it's about
what's best for the children. The longer the process drags on, the
more difficult for children and families, and that's the bottom
line.''
http://www.tennessean.com/government...nt_ID=48361937

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