Recently in Adoption Category

Alexis Stevens, now 52, found out that she wasn't a U.S. citizen the hard way. According to News-Press, the woman applied for a passport four years ago so that she can go on a trip to Europe. Yet the woman was never able to receive a U.S. passport because U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services found that she was not actually a U.S citizen.

The woman was born in England but she was adopted by a couple who went through the adoption process in Texas. At the age of 3, Alexis Stevens obtained a Texas birth certificate, but the naturalization process was never completed. Because she voted without being a U.S. citizen in several elections, she now fears that she will be deported.

It's always sad to hear about a drowning case, but a recent Fort Worth drowning is particularly depressing to hear about for many families in the state of Texas.

Fox News reports that the victim was 47-year-old Richard Walker of Winnsboro. The man had jumped into the water to save a young girl that he was planning to adopt, but currents were strong and pulled him under the water. A passerby was able to pull the young girl out of the water, but unfortunately Richard Walker died in the Trinity River.

The Grammy award winning singer Sheryl Crow has a new addition to her family with her newly adopted son Levi James. Levi is the singer's second adopted baby, which gives a new baby brother to Wyatt Crow, who was adopted in 2007.

New York Daily News reported that Sheryl Crow posted the news of her adoption on her website earlier this month. The adoption had reportedly been underway for about a year before she was given custody of the child.

In the merry month of May, people across the country are teaching others about how foster care affects hundreds of thousands of children and families. It's National Foster Care Month -- a campaign to heighten the visibility of children in foster care. The campaign primarily focuses on older youth who are about to age out of the foster care system.

FosterCareMonth.org reports that the awareness month came about in 1988, and has since gained much recognition in the appreciation for foster parents. According to the website, there are currently 463,000 children who have been placed in out-of-home care and an estimated 12 million children who are foster care alumni.

More and more people in Houston have come to support the idea of adoption for gay couples, as shown through a newly-released study. Fox News reports that the Houston Area Study conducted by Dr. Stephen Klineberg found that only 19 percent of the people in the Houston area favored adoption rights for gay couples in 1991. Now in the year 2010, the study shows that the percentage has increased to 52 percent.

"I think the main difference [in acceptance] is more and more people know somebody who is gay or lesbian," says Houston Adoption Attorney Mitchell Katine, who handles legal matters surrounding adoptions for gay couples and lesbian couples.

Torry Hansen of Tennessee adopted a 7-year-old boy from Russia earlier this year, but ABC's Good Morning America reports that the woman recently sent the boy back on a plane to Moscow with a note in his pocket saying that she no longer wishes to parent the boy named Artyem Savilev.

"This child is mentally unstable," Torry Hansen wrote in a note to the Russian Ministry of Education, as reported by ABC. "He is violent and has severe psychopathic issues/behaviors. I was lied to and misled by the Russian orphanage workers and director regarding his mental stability and other issues."

According to Findlaw, all U.S states require prospective adoptive parents to participate in a home study. This process is intended to educate and prepare a family for adoption and to let social workers evaluate how fit a family is for an adoption.

It's common for some prospective parents to have anxiety over the home study process, as it could be somewhat of an intrusive process. Adoption.com reports that the home study process in Texas is supposed to be an inspection of the home, background, financial ability to raise a child, parenting skills, and many other aspects of a person's life. Prospective parents will need to complete a criminal history background check and an abuse and neglect check. Yet it might be helpful to know that adoption agencies are not usually looking for the perfect parents, but rather parents who can be accommodating. A home study process may also help parents decide whether adoption is right for the family.