Most people in Pittsburgh may view adoption as a choice made by couples or families to grow when fertility or reproductive issues prevent them from having children on their own. While that particular scenario may indeed accurately describe a number of adoption cases, there are also times when an adoption occurs more as a safety benefit for the children involved.
Indeed, foster care (and subsequent adoption) can often provide the means for children to escape abusive situations. Often a child’s loved ones (even members of their extended families) initiate that care process by contacting the appropriate authorities to investigate suspicions of abuse. Once contacted, those entities have a responsibility to protect the children involved through close monitoring and (if necessary) placement into a new home.
State agency sued following boy’s death
A failure by an authoritative body in this regard can have tragic consequences. Per KABC-TV Los Angeles, the grandparents of a young boy allegedly tortured and killed by his parents accuse the local Department of Children and Family Services of such a failure. In a wrongful lawsuit naming the agency (among others) as defendants, the grandparents claim the agency ignored several warnings raised about potential abuse of the boy and his siblings suffered at the hands of their parents.
The lawsuit also claims a court existed mandating the removal of the children from the parents’ custody yet was never carried out. Following the boy’s death, law enforcement authorities arrested and indicted his parents for his murder.
Offering an escape for abused children
Families may have many reasons for seeking an adoption; the desire to help a child escape an abusive or impoverished situation may be as good as any. Legal assistance may be of great value to rely on when embarking on this process.
