Child abuse affects children of every age, race, and income level. It often takes place in the home and comes from a person the child knows and trusts—a parent, relative, babysitter, or friend of the family.

Often abusers are ordinary people caught in stressful situations: young mothers and fathers unprepared for the responsibilities of raising a child; overwhelmed single parents with no support system; families placed under great stress by poverty, divorce, or sickness; parents with alcohol or drug problems.

A first step in helping or getting help for an abused or neglected... more

As an individual and as a member of your community, you have the power to prevent child abuse and neglect. Here are some ways to contribute your ounce—or more—of effort to prevention.

Understand the problem. Child abuse and neglect affect children of all ages, races, and incomes. According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, in 2001, an estimated 903,000 children nationwide were victims of maltreatment. Most experts believe that actual incidents of abuse and neglect are more numerous than statistics indicate.

Understand the terms.... more

So many different people ask about filling out the forms for themselves in a stepparent adoption, that I thought I would post some sample forms. This way you can get a feel for what it is you would be doing, if you were to perform your own stepparnt adoption without a lawyer. Today's sample form is a stepparent adoption petition. This is one of the forms that has to be filled out and sent to the courts.

Attorney Name Address Phone Number

[STATE] [DISTRICT NUMBER] JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, [COUNTY NAME] COUNTY

IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION... more

The state of Kansas has recently passed a wonderful bill for private adoption. This bill, allows the judge to consider the best interest of the child in the case of adoption. This will help many stepparent adoption cases where a parent who has been absent from the child’s life for several years, still contests to a stepparent adoption.

Judges can consider a child's best interest in private adoption cases, including those involving a stepparent and nonconsenting parent, under legislation sent to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. The bill passed the Senate Thursday... more

Why is it that when it comes to adoption, just about every type has tax credits, employer adoption benefit programs, except for stepparent adoption? It seems as though everywhere I gather information on adoption, stepparent adoptions are always the exception for whatever adoption benefit I am researching. This just doesn’t make any sense to me.

Perhaps, if they were to go on the premise that other forms of adoption relieve the general public from being financially responsible for a child in state care. Which holds true, but only for those children who are... more

As you are finalizing your adoption, make sure that you apply for several copies of not only the final order of adoption, but the amended birth certificate as well. These documents will be needed in order to obtain a new social security card for the child, to enroll the child in school, or to show proof of adoption to the school that the child is currently attending. Keep one set of documents at home in a safe place, as well as an extra set outside the home, such as in a safe deposit box at the bank.

While waiting for the amended birth certificate, it may be... more

Stepparent adoptions, or second parent adoptions, as they are commonly referred to when speaking of same gender couples are possible, just not in every state. The idea of second parent adoption began in the mid 1980’s when a Lesbian Rights Group, now known as The National Center For Lesbian Rights, began to have lesbian couples that had one biological child, or a child whom was previously adopted by one of the parents, is then adopted by the same gender partner through the stepparent adoption process.

The idea, or movement of second parent... more

While it is not mandatory, once the finalization of a stepparent adoption occurs, you will have the opportunity to obtain a completely new Social Security number for your recently adopted child. This can be a very valuable step for many families, while others see no reason to pursue with a new Social Security number. If the absentee parent, is not a threat to the child, and/or willingly consented to the adoption, most likely a new Social Security number is not a measure that you will need to take. If a parent is comfortable enough with the situation to consent to the adoption, then the threat of them stealing the child’s identity, trying to defraud the welfare system, and other such acts... more

What is your retainer fee? Some lawyers require an upfront fee in order to secure their services. This fee varies from lawyer to lawyer. What is your hourly rate? Different lawyers have different rates, and bill differently. This is definitely something that you want to have clear BEFORE hiring an attorney. No one likes getting hit with hidden fees. Do you do any Pro Bono work? Often times, lawyers will do a certain amount of cases per year for free. You never know if you could be one of those lucky cases unless you ask! How long have you been in practice?... more