Montecito man arrested in Flordia on warrant for adoption scam

I think that guy was stupid for doing that scam and I'm glad he got arrested. All those people who lost millions... On a happier note, it's good that that one couple will be having a baby in May though.

Montecito man arrested in Flordia on warrant for adoption scam

A man in Florida was arrested for an adoption scam. He is wanted on 62 felony counts. His scam cost his victims millions of dollars. Two of them, a couple who were trying to get pregnant for years through fertilization, lost $75,000 to his scam. They are glad to see him arrested. The good news for this couple is that the wife is expecting in May.

Hoosiers find it harder to adopt from foreign countries

I think not allowing people to adopt internationally is sad. All these children are in orphanages or foster homes when people want to adopt them. When an adoption does go through many times the parents don't know the background of the child. Which is also sad because then they won't know if they'll need to get help for the child medically. I think it's good that people are wanting to adopt domestically, but if one wants to adopt internationally I think they should be able to with out complications.

Hoosiers find it harder to adopt from foreign countries

People trying to adopt internationally are finding it harder than ever. A set of complex factors have made countries such as Guatemala and China, once major sources of adoption from the U.S., hindered on sending out children "causing a four-year slowdown in international adoptions". Adoptions from Guatemala have been stopped since 2007 when their government passed "a law requiring them to comply with the Hague Convention. This requires member countries to regulate the international adoption process more closely". The wait in China can be more than three years. As a result many families find uncertainty about the background of the children they adopt. Now this has made less people want to adopt internationally. "The greater sadness is is thinking about the children who are stuck in orphanages of foster homes in their home countries , while couples in the U.S. are longing for a child".

Hmm...

Phoebe, I understand what you're saying about needing money for food and clothing and such. I guess I never looked at it that way. Although some places are non-profit and ask for donations and the like. I think more places should do that, or instead of making it so you pay for the child make it so that it's clear their paying for the clothing and medical bills and such for the child. On the other hand though once the child is adopted, the agency won't be needed the money for that child they'll just use it for other children. I don't think you should have to pay at all. Even for home visits. Those are outrageous! You have to pay to have someone come to your home to see if you're a good enough parent or not. Ridiculous!! *sigh* The only thing one should have to do is fill out paper work. They if they could possible donate to the agency to help the other children. And don't get me started with over seas adoption JEEZ!!! *sigh*

kelsey w 2nd response

Samara~ good job so far, you have a good range of article topics. The idea that Russia is tightening its foreign adoption policies is interesting, I think you should look into other country's and their policies on adoption. Instead of taking kids in, what about countries that are over populated, what are their systems like? Also, I agree with you that gay couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples. The article about the adoption clinic was very relevant to your topic. You could look into what clinics are like around here, maybe interview parents that are looking to adopt, and what the process is like.

Phoebe Responce #2

Nice job with the summaries and responses to the articles Samara! You seem very passionate about your topic and that's important for an I-search. It's also important to get both sides of the story so your blog isn't biased- which you have with both "Ark. adoption ban could start national trend, activists fear" and "New adoption agency gives prospective parents options". While you obviously have a strong opinion on your subject, it is informational and well-rounded when you have all sorts of different view points. So great work with that! :]
I do have one comment on one of the blogs- that agencies have a cost to adopt a child. You are completely reasonable to think that is immoral and unjust so treat a human being as property because I fully agree. But agencies do need a way to feed and clothe and provide shelter for the children they are housing. How else would they get the money to do so? Another interesting point to research might be funding for adoption agencies or something along those lines.

Kelsey Schwarz- Second Response

I think you're doing a really nice job of finding good information. The info that you're getting is very on topic and tells a lot about what you're writing about. You chose a topic that I never would have thought of. You're doing adoption, yet you are drifting a lot towards gay adoption which I think is really cool and a great idea. I also agree with you a lot on your responses. You seem to be digging into the information you're getting and really expressing how you feel about the topic. Since you are doing some stuff with gay adoption, I think it would be beneficial for you to possibly interview someone from an adoption agency and see what they think about the subject. I also think it's cool that you're looking at adoption in other countries as well. I think you're doing a good job. (:

response to Russia's cold attitude towards foreign adoption

I can understand why Russia wants to keep thier youth. I think it's good that they try to find homes for they children and are allowing foster care as an option. It's good that they're not trying to close the gap on foreign adoption entirely though. They still have it open as an option for children whom they can't find homes or for those who can't get medical treatment in Russia.

Russia attitudes colder towards foreign adoption

In the past Russia has been an main source for foreign adoptions. Now however they are closing the gap and only using foreign adoption as a last resort. They want to keep their children in Russia. They need young minds because there are so much more older people then young because the dropping birth rate. They will try to find adoptive homes or even foster homes and will only allow foreign adoption if they can't find a home or if the child has medical issues that can't be treated in Russia.

Interesting and Controversial Topic

Samara - Nice job of note taking and also writing responses. As your research deepens and broadens, you should be able to make some connections among the ideas and topics that you are discovering.

response to "Ark. adoption ban could start national trend, activists fear"

I feel that having a ban on gay couples adopting is just plain stupid! Whatever happened to civil rights? Gay couples should have just enough rights to adopt as heterosexual couples do. i hope organizations fight the new law because it's just not fair. Cox saying you wouldn't place a child in a home with parents that abused drugs or alcohol when they had the same problems and then related that to their reasons why they wanted the law was just ridiculous! Putting someone in a home with gay parents when the youth is gay themselves doesn't even compare to putting a child in a home with one's that do drugs or alcohol. Having gay parents when the youth is gay would be a good thing because then they would have someone to relate to.

Ark. adoption ban could start national trend, activists fear

"The Arkansas Family Council just passed a law that bans gay couples from adopting. The law states that any unmarried couple can't adopt but it was meant to target gay couples. People are afraid other states, like Georgia, will fall behind. Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council couldn't get funding from media so he turned to the churches to get his voters. People like Cathy Webb, Arkansas first and only gay lawmaker, tried fighting the new law. Other organizations and individuals are considering fighting the law also. Cox argued that that gay foster youth are better off not having gay parents. '...if you had a child who has a problem with drugs or alcohol you wouldn't put a child in a home with someone who abuses drugs or alcohol to make them feel comfortable.' "

new adoption agency Angels watch

A new adoption agency sounds great, given the fact of where it is located and the fact that there isn't one where it is going. The only thing I don't agree with is the fact that there is a fee for adopting a child. They're not dogs at a shelter. They're human beings with thoughts and feelings. I do like how they will work with gay and heterosexual couples and single parents so they will be able to adopt though.

New adoption agency gives prospective parents options

There is a new adoption agency opening in New Mexico called Angles Watch. This is because there is no adoption agency south of Belen, now their will be. They will work with mothers and pregnant mothers who want to give up their child for adoption. They will provide home screenings, check references, and offer training for families. They will work with same-sex and heterosexual couples and single parents. The average cost would be around $250 application fee and $1,400home study. Depending on the child, other costs may apply. The agency hopes the support 'open adoptions' where the child can meet their birth mother. Families who adopt through the state can be eligible for money to help pay for medical, education, and clothing expenses until the child is 18.

gay and single couple adoption

In response to the survey, I don't really find it surprising that people are prejudice towards gay couples. There has been a lot of that going on for ages. For the singllle parents though, I feel they just don't want to give them a chance. It's sad. I think anyone who is will to care and rasie a child and knows how to should be able to. No matter what their relationship status. So kudos to the agencies that let gay couples and sinlge parents adopt!

adoption and gay and single couples

There was a recent survey to see how people felt about gay couple and single parent adoption. 87% of people opposed gay and single adoption. Many feel that children should have male and female role models. 76% said that it would break down the traditional family. Many adoption agencies have welcomed gay couples and single parents as prospective parents for years and were surprised at the prejudice. The adoption agencies focus on the child and see if the prospective parents will meet the child's needs. Not the parents relationship status.

Response to "Adoption helps children."

After reading the article "Adoption helps children", I got an understanding on why some people feel that adoption is best. When you take someone out of an abusive of otherwise neglectful home, and then place them with loving guardians to take care of them, of course it's a good thing. The current issue with child welfare is understandable yet unreasonable. True the welfare system may not have been built to provide homes for every child but they could at least make a decent attempt at getting a child into a permanent home. They cannot keep relying on the biological parents to get better with whatever causes them to be unfit. Weather it's drug abuse, alcoholism, a mental illness, or just not knowing how to raise a child. Baby adoptions are the most successful because the baby has time to from bonds with their adoptive parents that is nurturing and loving. As a baby the child might not remember the abuse as well as a teenager might. That doesn't mean that teenagers aren't unfit to be adopted. Many are adopted, it's just that many are traumatized from their past life that they may need more love and nurturing and a little more patience than a baby who was abused. Adoptive children do well because the adoptive parent(s) love them and know how to raise a child. As for the mothers who are against adoption, and feel that the biological parents are the best parents for the child, they're wrong. Studies show that children who were adopted from abusive homes compared with children who weren't and were placed with their biological parents were better off than the children with their real parents. Many adoptions stay intact which is good although some don't. It is true that the younger the child the more the chances are of the adoption being a success. Baby's make bonds with whomever is caring for them while teenagers are more cautious especially when from abusive homes. They're weary of whom they befriend because of fear of being hurt. Adopted children go into loving homes and are better of than in their abusive and /or neglectful biological home.

"Adoption helps children"

In the article "Adoption helps children" by Janet Alberchtsen, on the Opposing Viewpoints database, she states how adoption essentially helps children by taking them out of their abusive or neglectful home and placing them with loving parents. "Yet adoption remains unfashionable in child welfare circles." She says that a lot of children suffer abuse in the child welfare systems "which was built to react to crisis rather than provide long-term homes for children." Problems with the current system are as pointed out that the state usually ends up keeping the child in foster care until he's eighteen, going from foster parents to biological parents in the states hope that the child's real parents have learned how to care for their child. By doing this, the state overshadows the welfare of the child. "It is painfully obvious that biological ties do not guarantee that children will be loved and nurtured." Alberchtsen talks about a book by a Patricia Morgan, Adoption and the Care of Children- The British and American Experience. In her book, Morgan did research on adopted children. "Baby adoptions are the most successful." "Adoptive families seem to accentuate the positive and minimize the negative factors." "A study which compared children who had been adopted from care with those who had been returned from care to their parents found that the "restored" children did bad in every respect compared with the adopted children. Morgan concluded in her research that "adopted children do so well because the [adoptive] parents are so keen to rear a child." Many "relinquishing mothers" view adoption as unjust and a means of dealing with the children of unwed mothers. These mothers claim that the children are always better off with their biological parents. "Breakdown rates for adoption are about 9 percent. However, the younger the child is at placement, the more likely the adoption will succeed." "Adoption needs to be embraced, not as punishment for unfit parents, but as a gift of loving for the child."

Decided ISearch topic

My decided topic for the ISearch will be adoption. After failed research of my original three topics, I decided on adoption because it is a topic of great interest to me. I do think about the adoption process a lot. What it will be like to adopt a child when I grow up and what I would have to go through. Especially if it was a single parent adoption or an adoption over seas.

Adoption is a hot topic. In my beginning research, I found that there were many articles on adoption and many different viewpoints on different subjects related to adoption. The amount of information I found was astounding. Some of the topics covered were weather or not adoption was good or bad, gay couple adoption, and how children should not be bought and sold like dogs. I could also look into celebrity adoptions and what it is like when Americans adopt overseas and when someone outside of America adopts a child from America. I wonder what the ratio is of children adopted from over seas to children adopted from America is? The articles were very interesting and brought up new perspectives on my topic. I feel that by the end of the ISearch process, I will have a whole new perspective on adoption.

The information will be available throughout the ISearch process. There are many websites I can use. Google, Opposing Viewpoints, Marvel, etc. The opinions on this topic are changing constantly so there will be much information to research.

The articles I found are already challenging my thinking. I have knew ideas on what I think is right and wrong in the adoption process. Weather or not adoption is even good for the child. Weather or not gay couples should adopt a child and if single couple adoption is a good idea.

Overall, I feel the topic I have decided on has answered all five criteria questions and will definitely keep me interested for the next five or six months.

I think adoption would be a great topic to research, because laws are always changing, and there are some aspects of it that are somewhat controversial. Adoption would be a good topic to choose because you can interview parents of adopted children, and children who are adopted and find out their opinions on the subject, to get a few different angles on it. I dont really know of any alternate sources that offer information about adoption, but if you do for some reason decide to change your focus to the "Mental Health Institutions in Movies" topic, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a great movie, and I've heard its also a really good book.

Samaras Ideas

I really liked your topics for the I-Search.  Most of them seamed really good and interesting, but not really the type that would be featured in the newspapers.  Out of all of them, though, I think that adoption is the best.  

response to Samara's isearch ideas

So I really like the idea of seeing how music effects one's mood, but I could see how finding information on this topic would be difficult. It seems as though you're more or less set on the idea of adoption. I think this would be a really cool idea to research because there are so many different things to learn. There's probably a lot of information out there, and you could also link this topic to how the different parties or candidates view the topic. This could also lead you to gay rights if that's something you might be interested in. Some ideas to consider : What are the pros and cons of adopting? What would cause someone to adopt a child? Where can you adopt from? Celebrities who have adopted children, and the adoption process. I hope these idea's help!

Cole's Response

I think that adoption as your I-Search topic is a very good idea. There is a lot of information on adoption on the internet and a few good books. My topic for last years i-search was adoption and there are plenty of resources to get information from. In my opinion it was also very helpful to be able to talk to someone who had actually gone through the adoption process. There is a close friend of my family who recently adopted a baby girl from Kazakhstan, it turns out that it is actually a very difficult process. They flew halfway around the world twice before they could actually adopt a child. You should try to find someone who you can talk to who has an adopted child.

Group Recommendations

Hi Samara,
I think you made a really good choice for your I-Search. Adoption is a big topic, I'm sure, but I don't know a lot about it. I can imagine it can be very current. One suggestion for you is to find a couple who is adopting and talk to them about the process they have to grow through. I think that would give you a great insight in to the adoption process. It may be hard to find a couple who wants to talk to you about though, but I have no idea because I have no experience in the area.
A perspective of adoption you may want to explore is the religion side of it.
Another thing to think about would be the cost of adoption, if there is any?
One last thing, I think that you should check out Opposing Viewpoints, they will have some good information. Good Luck

Samara Ethier
I Search
Period C

Before starting the process of the I Search, I had to choose three possible topics that I might like to research. Then, I had to research each of these topics and then decide on one. The topics I choose are the following: to see how movies portray mental health clinics and to see if they're portrayed close to the real mental health clinics, to see how the music people listen to can affect their mood, and finally, how TV advertising affects teen behavior.
I first started off looking at sites such as The World and I, and the Student Resource center. Then, I looked at the Marvel database. With all of my searches on these sites, all the information I got wasn’t really focused towards my topic(s). Some of the information was interesting; it just wasn’t what I was looking for.
As my search continued, I couldn’t really find much of anything that related to my whole topic. For instance, when I was looking for information showing how movies portray mental health clinics and if these portrayals are close to real mental health clinics, I could find plenty on movies and on mental health clinics but never the two together. Most of the information wasn’t really relevant either. The only thing I got about music and how it affects people’s moods was this quiz telling you to listen to certain types of music and then record how your mood changed. There wasn’t any current information that had already been collected that I could use. I hardly found anything on TV advertising and how it affects teen behavior. Most of the information was focused on children or it was just on advertising and nothing about behaviors that could result.
As my search continued with a last attempt at trying to find anything on my three topics, I did come across other topics that were of interest to me. Such as sexuality, animal rights, animal testing, women's rights, feminists, censorship, same sex marriage, and adoption. The topic that was of most interest and that I found a lot of information for was adoption. Some of the articles that I found were based on why adoption was good, why it was bad, same sex couple adoption, single parent adoption, how children shouldn't be bought and sold like dogs, etc. All of the information was current and also very interesting. So, I do believe at that point that I had made my decision on my I Search topic: adoption.