Speed Adoptions, Grand Jury Says

Although the number of adoptions is on the rise, Orange County takes too long to place children in permanent homes and needs to improve its operations, a Grand Jury report released Tuesday said.

About 370 of the county’s 2,490 available children were adopted last fiscal year, according to the report, a 55% increase over the previous period.

The report faults an agency culture that puts too much emphasis on reuniting families, rather than finding a child a permanent home. Its author, James Nolan, also believes the agency has dragged its feet in instituting state policies that place more emphasis on finding adoptive parents should the reunification efforts not work.

“Social workers feel like they’ve failed if they don’t reunite a family, or feel that they’re bullying them if they make plans in case the child can’t be unified,” said Nolan. “There’s a very emotional tie there.”

Officials from Orange County Social Services Agency agree that more adoptive parents are needed but said the report overestimates the problem. Officials added that it’s sometimes better to keep children with their biological parents.

“We know that there are children in circumstances where adoption is not in their best interest,” said Social Services Agency Deputy Director Susan Taylor .