It happens in domestic adoption and foster care too

Click on the title of this post to read the article. The article briefly mentions that private agencies are involved in the lawsuit. In case anyone is wondering which private agencies, the case header for the lawsuit is informative. The private agency names are in blue text.

PAUL BRYAN; BONNIE BRYAN, husband and wife, individually and as parents and natural guardians on behalf of their minor child KB, and KB,
Appellants

v.

ERIE COUNTY OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES; PAUL
CANCILLA, individually and as an employee of Erie County Office of Children &
Youth; CARMEN E. MERRITT, individually and as an employee of Erie County Office of Children & Youth; RENIE SKALKO, individually and as an employee of Erie County Office of Children & Youth; CINDY BAXTER, individually and as an employee of Erie County Office of Children & Youth; CINDY LEWIS, individually and as an employee of Erie County Office of Children and Youth; BARRY KOHLER, individually and as an employee of Erie County Office of Children & Youth; BRIGITTE SULLIVAN, individually and as an employee of Erie County Office of Children & Youth; BETHESDA CHILDREN’S HOME; ELIZABETH MALLORY, individually and as an employee of Bethesda Children’s Home; COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE, WESTERN REGION OFFICE OF CHILDREN, YOUTH and FAMILIES; MICHAEL J. KAZMER, individually and as an employee of the Department of Public Welfare Western Region Office of Children Youth
and Families; HARBORCREEK YOUTH SERVICES; MERRITT L. KLEINER,
individually and as an employee of Harborcreek Youth Services; and JOHN PETULLA, individually and as an employee of Erie County Office of Children & Youth and DPW Bureau of County Children and Youth Programs

http://www.bethesda-home.org/about/about.html is a Lutheran Social Services agency.

http://www.hys-erie.org/about_us.htm is a Catholic agency.

(helps to know who's who)

To quote the legal opinion (and this is one smart judge!)

"I simply can not agree that no reasonable juror would find that placing a known sexual abuser in a home with minor children, with no warning to the foster parents (and with reassurances), is tantamount to “deliberate indifference.” Rather, I believe a reasonable jury could quite easily conclude that such conduct “shocks the conscience.” As the Bryans quite correctly note, it is “shocking” that a “government employee would knowingly place a sexual predator into a home with a nine-year-old unsuspecting child, and give the [foster parents] a false document, which omits the predatory history of the child.”

Bonnie has become a super friend to me over the years and I am very happy to see an injustice righted finally. There is a lot more that I know but it's not my place to share this information. Bonnie and I have a lot of common, including our private agency defendants.

In case anyone is wondering why I posted about this lawsuit, check out who the state child welfare agency is. Same state that licensed Adoption International Program and Main Street.

Jay P. Deratany, the attorney for the Bryans, is part of the reason IL has their Adoption Reform Act. Here are some of the provisions:

The Act provides basic protections for families including: a Bill of Rights for Biological Parents and Adoptive Parents; assurances that agencies disclose policies, fees, and other relevant material prior to a child’s placement in advance of adoption; and requirement that the fees agencies charge are reasonable. The law further requires all child welfare organizations providing adoption services to be 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, and bands unlicensed companies from advertising adoption services in Illinois. DCFS is also required under the law to license any entity providing adoption services for compensation, and to establish a statewide adoption complaint registry.

The statute also prohibits waivers of liability in contracts.

Be nice if other states followed this trend. It would also be nice if IL would implement the law fully. Other than an out-of-date page on licensed adoption agencies on the IL DCFS website and agency posting annual reports on their websites (some are inaccurate when cross checked with court records stating the agency hasn't been sued when they indeed have), other protections for members of the triad are a lot of pretty words on a piece of legislation. The statewide adoption complaint registry, never started. DCFS whined they needed millions of dollars to set up a toll-free number to ring in their agency licensure department. HUH?

IL also has a foster parent law, same tune, different words.