Jessica Hernandez

ENGL 1102 – 102 1 | P a g e

Dr. Sally Griffin

Spring 2014

The Unwanted Children

Laura and Andrew Garza are two children who have seen the ins and outs of the Texas foster care

system. They are actually two of ten biological siblings who have experienced all aspects of the adoption

system. Some of the siblings were adopted as babies, never told they were adopted and never having

contact with the rest of their biological siblings; some aged out before they could be adopted and were left

to fend almost for themselves, others were adopted at varying ages of youth and put into varying

situations of life. Laura and Andrew were adopted by my family.

Things started off well for our family, Laura was adopted at 16 and Andrew was adopted at 11,

there were the usual transition problems, small bouts of rebellion against authority, school grades not as

high as they could be, but after a while when they realized we weren’t planning on giving them back

things started to get better. But for my family they didn’t stay that way. We started lowering their

different medicines and for Laura that was a huge mistake. Her behavioral problems got worse, she

started acting out more, sleeping around, she stopped going to school, was constantly trying to run away.

The worst and final straw was one day in my senior year when my mom came home for work

later than normal, she barely got through the door when Laura was asking about being taken to the

emergency room (because in Texas healthcare for children in or who have been in the system is handled

through Medicaid the emergency room is like regular doctor for them). Her issue was not dire, just

stomach pains, but what do you expect when all you eat is ramen noodles and hot Cheetos? My mom did

not tell her no, all she asked was for ten minutes to change out of her work clothes and grab something to

eat, but by this time Laura was so caught up in her own world she didn’t care about anyone else, she

threw a hissy fit and stormed out of the house. By this point my mom had had enough of Laura’s attitude

and decided to let her go and cool off, she locked the front door since it was getting late and went about

Jessica Hernandez

ENGL 1102 – 102 2 | P a g e

Dr. Sally Griffin

Spring 2014

the rest of our evening routine. Laura came back a while later and went berserk when she found the door

locked. She started screaming and trying to kick in the door, my mom made the mistake of opening it to

tell Laura that if she did not start acting right my mom would call the police on her, which pushed her

over the edge. Time seemed to freeze then, Laura attacked my mom, punching her, kicking her, pulling

her hair, and I just stood there, feet frozen to the ground, Michael, Laura’s boyfriend who was living with

us in the hopes that he might help make Laura get her act straight, pulled Laura off my mom and got her

outside the house. After that things went into overdrive the police were called an arrest warrant was

eventually out for Laura and her adoption was terminated. Andrew still lives with my mom and now that

the negativity of Laura’s presence is gone he is blossoming into a really wonderful kid.

After all this I started to wander. My mom’s old boss had adopted a little boy and things with

them were fine. Why did things go so bad for my family? My mom is a great parent I could not

understand why Laura could not appreciate all the things my mom did and was trying to do for her and

Andrew, I couldn’t understand why.

To start I looked into a more in depth explanation of the adoption process since even though I

was part of the experience there were certain parts I was not involved in. The general steps to adoption

seems to overall be the same throughout the United States; seek out an agency either private or public,

complete a homestudy and other pre-placement requirements like parenting classes, after placement go

through a brief supervisory period, and then finally the adoption. I focused my inquiry in two places,

North Carolina, because that’s where I currently live and, Texas because that’s where my own mishap

happened.

Though the Texas adoption process an adopter must meet the following requirements

Jessica Hernandez

ENGL 1102 – 102 3 | P a g e

Dr. Sally Griffin

Spring 2014

Works Cited Harden, Brenda. "Safety and Stability for Foster Children: A Developmental

Perspective." Children, Families, and Foster Care. 14.1 n. page. Web. 5 Apr. 2014. <http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=40&articleid=133&sectionid=874>

"Steps to Become a Foster/Adoptive Parent." (TARE). N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/Get_Started/steps.asp>.

Benoiton, Sandra, and Terra Cooper. "How To Adopt A Child Guide." Adoption. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://adoption.com/how-to-adopt-a-child-guide>.

"How to Adopt." N.C. Kids Adoption and Foster Care Network. N.C. Kids Adoption and Foster Care Network, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/adopt/how.htm>.

"Statistics- Intercountry Adoption." Bureau of Consular Affairs - US Department of State, 1 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://adoption.state.gov/about_us/statistics.php>.

Brodzinsky, David. "Stress & Coping Model, Adoption from the Inside Out, & The Meaning of the Search." The Psychology of adoption. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Print.

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Foster care statistics 2012. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.