Lets do this Utah PEEPS

For those of you who are not already involved in this:

I am on the board for a legislative bill that is going to the House in January 2008As most of you know we have a little girl that is adopted but we were unable to legally foster her or adopt her as a couple. This bill is VITAL for all LGBT who are hoping to have children, have children, or have the potential for fostering children within their family or otherwise. Ultimately this bill would allow for second parent adoption for now we are just going to take it step by step.

This is going to require a TREMENDOUS amount of support from everyone in Utah. We want all to be involved this is going to take action and a big push from all including, LGBT parents, grandparents,supporters, allies, and friends.

We are hosting a meeting at our house on December 17th at 7:00 pm. Kids are welcome. In this meeting we will tell you what you can do to help, we will discuss the rally that will take place in February. We will talk about other bills that have been overturned that are similar to this back in 2000. My email is below for more info!

We NEED all of our friends to be involved kids or not to be there, because we know that you ALL support and love our children. We will also host meetings in Northern Utah, Tooele, Sandy/Riverton area over the next month.

I have included some additional information below, if you have ANY questions please email or call me!! Thanks in advance for your support. Also please keep this going, pass it on your bulletin, we must educate everyone we know because most think we already have these rights!

If you have other questions about this you can email me at rebecca.brown2@gmail.com and I will get you in touch with the right people, I am just not comfortable posting all contact info now.

ADOPTION FACT SHEET 12.07

SUPPORT Adoption Amendments

Adoption and foster care decisions should be made by
parents and professionals, not politicians. All qualified
parents should be able to adopt.

• The marital restriction costs taxpayers. Children with two parents
are less likely to end up on CHIP, food stamps, and welfare than those
with only one parent. Current law prevents a parent from sharing rights
and responsibilities with another cohabiting adult if they are not married.
This creates families with a working adult and a child on welfare.

• The marital restriction has harmed children in crisis. In 1999, the
year before the marital restriction, DCFS placed 644 children with
relatives. As of last year, relative placement had dropped by 31%. In
that same time frame, the number of children in state custody and the
length of time in custody have increased.

• Parents should have the right to choose who raises their children.
A parent knows what is in their child’s best interests. Under current law,
a single parent can designate someone for a second parent adoption,
including a roommate or a lover who lives somewhere else. But if the
second adult lives with the parent in a committed relationship, the law
says they are disqualified.

• The best interests of the child should not be ignored. In October
2007, a court told Gregg and Mike Valdez that their four nieces and
nephews would be taken away and placed in foster care because Gregg
and Mike were not married. Even though the children were with relatives
and were all together, the law prevented the court from considering what
would benefit the children.

• Married couples will still have priority to adopt. Utah values
traditional families. And under Adoption Amendments, a married couple
will take priority over other candidates in the adoption process. But any
loving and supportive family is preferable to no family for children in
crisis.

SUPPORT Adoption Amendments