Adoption Process Slowed by Appeals : New Families May Wait for Years When Natural Parents Go to Court to Regain Custody of Their Children

Joey is nearing his 10th birthday. He has learning disabilities and has been in foster care most of his life.

But for the past 5 1/2 years, Joey’s life and development have improved steadily because of Donna Howell’s devotion. Howell, who lives in Costa Mesa, is committed to raising Joey (not his real name) and has taken steps to adopt him.

A year ago, a court terminated the parental rights of his natural mother, allowing Howell, who is divorced, to give Joey her name and begin adoption procedures. But the process may not be final for a year, perhaps much longer.

Under California law, natural parents whose parental rights are terminated can appeal. Social workers and judges don’t dispute the right to appeal, but they say those cases take too long, tormenting--and sometimes dissuading--adoptive parents.

In Orange County, the cases average three years, said Claudia Cowan, one of five county counsels who handle adoptions. None of the appeals has ever been won here, she said.

Today, 22 adoption cases involving 39 children are pending in Orange County because of appeals. That represents almost 40% of the number of children eligible for adoption.

Doris Atkinsson of the Los Angeles County Adoption Services Division said only 15 cases await appeal there. San Diego and Riverside counties each have 10 such cases.

Orange County Juvenile Court Judge Betty Lou Lamoreaux said the appeals are difficult for the children and the foster families.

“Natural parents treat children as their property, and they are not the least bit aware of the (psychological) damage they do to them,” she said.

In one case, she said, by the time the appeal process ended, the child was 13 and refused to be adopted by a couple who had cared for her for five years. (Children can refuse adoption after the age of 12.)

“She is going to stay in foster care until she’s 18 at the expense of the county because it took three years to appeal,” Lamoreaux said.

Lamoreaux blames what she terms “benevolent appellate judges” who grant extensions that prolong the appeals for years. And, she said, appellate courts don’t push hard enough to get the trial briefs and transcripts needed after the appeal is filed.

Presiding Judge John K. Trotter of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal in Santa Ana, however, said extensions are granted only when “something dramatic happens.”

“We run a very tight ship in these cases. We do not give the attorneys much leeway. But we do not have any control over the production of records,” he said, adding that court reporters and personnel at the county clerk’s office often take months to deliver the paper work to the court.

Still, Trotter admitted that extensions sometimes must be granted because of the seriousness of the case.

“The law must extend to the (natural) parent at every opportunity. It is the most difficult ruling to make. But it’s very critical, because the final decision will have to stand forever,” he said.

Mary C. Harris, the director of Orange County’s Adoptive Services Division, said the frustration of delays sometimes causes would-be adoptive parents to give up. It doesn’t happen often, but many adoptive parents admit that if they had known an appeal could last for years, they might not have started the adoption process.

“We can’t even promise them the kid is legally free and it’s very frustrating. It just takes too long,” Harris said.

David and Susan Pentacost of Santa Ana last year decided they wanted to adopt a child. They found Bucky (not his real name), a precocious 5-year-old with blue eyes who personified their dream.

But in April, a week before the adoption was to be final, they were notified that an appeal had been filed on behalf of Bucky’s mother, who lost her parental rights when he was weeks old. The news devastated the Pentacosts.

“It’s frustrating because there is nothing we can do but wait,” Susan Pentacost said. “In our hearts, he’s our little boy. He doesn’t belong to the state or anybody else.”

In Orange County, no appeal of parental rights has been resolved in less than 16 months, Cowan said. Statewide, the average is 22 months.

Almost Always Frivolous

“These appeals are almost always frivolous. There is nothing complicated about them, so it should not take that long,” she said. “The parent is always protected, but the child suffers. A parent could die while an appeal is pending and nobody would ever know.”

Harris said the Pentacosts, who have no other children, weren’t emotionally prepared for the appeal.

“They feel betrayed. Technically, the child is still a foster child and cannot use the adoptive family name,” she said.

Pentacost, a post office supervisor, said he and his wife realize the chances of losing Bucky are remote. Still, the appeal scares them.

“It’s always in the back of your mind. We are still totally committed to him. But there’s always that chance we’ll lose him,” he said.

The wait also weighs heavy for Donna Howell. She has turned a slow-learning, mean-spirited, hyperactive child into an inquisitive boy with a chance of someday abandoning special education classes and attending regular school with children his age.

Deserves a Home

She chose Joey, she said, because he was “unadoptable. He wouldn’t be very high on the list. I have grown to love him very much and he deserves a home.

“But one of the most frustrating and painful things is that I know there is a part of me that I have not totally given to him. You can’t trust the system because of fear, and it’s really sad because he is the one who misses out,” Howell said.

Terry and JoAnne Brown, who now live in a spacious seven-bedroom home in Big Bear Lake, are experiencing the same frustrations. They are trying to adopt four siblings, ranging in age from 4 to 12.

The two older boys have been with the Browns for six years. The younger two arrived two years ago. The Browns also have three daughters of their own, two of whom still live at home.

Bad Times Remembered

The Browns formerly lived next to the children’s grandmother in Costa Mesa, and knew of their situation. When the natural parents lost their parental rights, the Browns moved to adopt.

“We love them very much. We’ve known them all since birth,” said Brown, who works for a natural gas company.

“But what frustrates me the most is what happens to these kids. They’ve already been through a lot,” he added.

The oldest boy in the family that the Browns want to adopt still remembers the bad times with his natural parents. He remembers the frightful night six years ago when he and a brother were found trembling in the back seat of a car their father had driven at high speeds in a futile attempt to elude police.

“I mostly remember bad things. Here, I am loved and I wouldn’t ever want to go back. I want to be a Brown,” the boy said.

JoAnne Brown, who is especially close to the four adoptive children, laments the time she and her husband must wait through the natural parents’ appeal, but said they are at the system’s mercy.

“Most of the time, you feel you have no rights. It’s like you get punished for doing good,” she said. “I don’t blame anybody. It’s nobody’s fault. . . . It’s just the system.”