wexwimpy
September 10th 04, 02:36 PM
Gay couple can keep foster kids
CURTIS KRUEGER St. Petersburg Times
LARGO - Two young girls from Florida's foster care system should be
allowed to live permanently with the two gay men they call "Dad and
Daddy," Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Irene Sullivan ruled Wednesday.
Denying a motion that could have moved the girls away, Sullivan said
the state owes the two men "a debt of gratitude" for the way they took
in two troubled foster children, now ages 6 and 7, and transformed
their lives.
"I'm going to personally thank Dad and Daddy here, for in their way,
stopping the cycle of abuse," Sullivan said. She even suggested the
state use the men to train other foster parents.
"It's not just love, it's love, experience, background, intelligence.
They seem to have it all," Sullivan said of Curtis Watson, 40, a
licensed foster parent, and his life partner, who is in his 40s and
works for a health facility.
Watson and his partner, wearing yellow daisies on their lapels, dabbed
tears from their eyes after the ruling. About a dozen supporters with
identical flowers broke into applause. Watson said he felt "extreme
joy" and a chance to "move on with our lives."
Assistant State Attorney Dane DiSano said he was unsure if the state
Department of Children and Families would appeal.
Sullivan's ruling dealt only with the narrow question of whether child
welfare workers followed the right procedures when they recommended
the two sisters live in the long-term custody of the two gay men.
But beneath the surface, the case touched on a Florida law which bans
gay people from adopting children. Karen Doering, an attorney for the
National Center for Lesbian Rights who attended the proceedings, said
the ruling was highly significant.
"Despite the state's protestations to the contrary, this was
absolutely about sexual orientation," she said.
The saga began last year when a caseworker under contract with DCF was
trying desperately to find a temporary home for a girl so violent and
temperamental that she had been in 17 different foster homes in two
months.
The caseworker called Watson, who agreed to take in the girl.
As he recounted from the witness stand Wednesday, the girl "cussed us
out and flipped us off." But she stayed for a week, and then another,
and eventually her sister came to stay also, with the caseworker's
approval.
A total of 29 foster children have stayed at the Seminole home for
varying lengths of time.
Watson and his partner - who was not identified in court - worked with
the girls. They put them in time-out when they misbehaved, gave them
chores, helped with homework and took them to their church.
In time, bonds of love formed, Watson testified Wednesday.
He read from a letter which the older girl wrote: "Dear Dads: I love
you. You love me when I am bad and when I am good. You gave me a home
when no one would. I'm here forever."
Several witnesses in the case, including those called by the state,
agreed that the children's behavior had improved dramatically in a
short time after living with Watson and his partner.
Clinical psychologist Robert S. Klein, who was appointed by the court
to evaluate the girls, testified Wednesday of "an improvement not only
in their emotionality, but in their intellectual functioning."
Observations like these were the reason representatives of Family
Continuity Programs, which formerly oversaw foster care programs in
Pinellas and Pasco counties, decided to recommend the girls stay in
the long-term custody of Watson and his partner.
This was a somewhat unusual arrangement, since Watson and his partner
are prohibited from adopting children because they are gay.
Caseworkers working under the auspices of DCF ultimately came up with
another arrangement, known as long-term non-relative custody, which
gave the couple permanent custody but not the full legal status of
adoptive parents.
Judge Sullivan signed an order in March making the arrangement
official.
Shortly afterward, the state officials decided it had made a mistake
in agreeing to the arrangement. They filed a motion to reopen the
case, saying caseworkers had not tried hard enough to find an adoptive
home.
Klein, the psychologist, spoke forcefully Wednesday in saying that
moving the children could be devastating and "will cause irreparable
harm and they will never trust anyone again."
The written version of Sullivan's order will be issued later.
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/9614169.htm
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.
CURTIS KRUEGER St. Petersburg Times
LARGO - Two young girls from Florida's foster care system should be
allowed to live permanently with the two gay men they call "Dad and
Daddy," Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Irene Sullivan ruled Wednesday.
Denying a motion that could have moved the girls away, Sullivan said
the state owes the two men "a debt of gratitude" for the way they took
in two troubled foster children, now ages 6 and 7, and transformed
their lives.
"I'm going to personally thank Dad and Daddy here, for in their way,
stopping the cycle of abuse," Sullivan said. She even suggested the
state use the men to train other foster parents.
"It's not just love, it's love, experience, background, intelligence.
They seem to have it all," Sullivan said of Curtis Watson, 40, a
licensed foster parent, and his life partner, who is in his 40s and
works for a health facility.
Watson and his partner, wearing yellow daisies on their lapels, dabbed
tears from their eyes after the ruling. About a dozen supporters with
identical flowers broke into applause. Watson said he felt "extreme
joy" and a chance to "move on with our lives."
Assistant State Attorney Dane DiSano said he was unsure if the state
Department of Children and Families would appeal.
Sullivan's ruling dealt only with the narrow question of whether child
welfare workers followed the right procedures when they recommended
the two sisters live in the long-term custody of the two gay men.
But beneath the surface, the case touched on a Florida law which bans
gay people from adopting children. Karen Doering, an attorney for the
National Center for Lesbian Rights who attended the proceedings, said
the ruling was highly significant.
"Despite the state's protestations to the contrary, this was
absolutely about sexual orientation," she said.
The saga began last year when a caseworker under contract with DCF was
trying desperately to find a temporary home for a girl so violent and
temperamental that she had been in 17 different foster homes in two
months.
The caseworker called Watson, who agreed to take in the girl.
As he recounted from the witness stand Wednesday, the girl "cussed us
out and flipped us off." But she stayed for a week, and then another,
and eventually her sister came to stay also, with the caseworker's
approval.
A total of 29 foster children have stayed at the Seminole home for
varying lengths of time.
Watson and his partner - who was not identified in court - worked with
the girls. They put them in time-out when they misbehaved, gave them
chores, helped with homework and took them to their church.
In time, bonds of love formed, Watson testified Wednesday.
He read from a letter which the older girl wrote: "Dear Dads: I love
you. You love me when I am bad and when I am good. You gave me a home
when no one would. I'm here forever."
Several witnesses in the case, including those called by the state,
agreed that the children's behavior had improved dramatically in a
short time after living with Watson and his partner.
Clinical psychologist Robert S. Klein, who was appointed by the court
to evaluate the girls, testified Wednesday of "an improvement not only
in their emotionality, but in their intellectual functioning."
Observations like these were the reason representatives of Family
Continuity Programs, which formerly oversaw foster care programs in
Pinellas and Pasco counties, decided to recommend the girls stay in
the long-term custody of Watson and his partner.
This was a somewhat unusual arrangement, since Watson and his partner
are prohibited from adopting children because they are gay.
Caseworkers working under the auspices of DCF ultimately came up with
another arrangement, known as long-term non-relative custody, which
gave the couple permanent custody but not the full legal status of
adoptive parents.
Judge Sullivan signed an order in March making the arrangement
official.
Shortly afterward, the state officials decided it had made a mistake
in agreeing to the arrangement. They filed a motion to reopen the
case, saying caseworkers had not tried hard enough to find an adoptive
home.
Klein, the psychologist, spoke forcefully Wednesday in saying that
moving the children could be devastating and "will cause irreparable
harm and they will never trust anyone again."
The written version of Sullivan's order will be issued later.
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/9614169.htm
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.