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Recently in Adoption Category

Children Adopted In Houston During National Adoption Month

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More than 60 children that were once wards of the state now have permanent families after prospective parents went through the process of adoption. ABC News reported that on Friday November 19, a ceremony honored new families as 61 children that were in the custody of Child Protective Services were adopted on this day.

November Is National Adoption Month In Texas

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The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services reports that November is National Adoption Month, which has the goal of raising awareness about the adoption of children and youth from foster care. According to the Department, there are currently 115,000 children in the United States that are in foster care waiting for adoptive families.

National Adoption Month is also sponsored by the organizations AdoptUsKids and Child Welfare Information Gateway. These organizations not only provide resources on adoption-related services but also do work to prevent child abuse and neglect within a home.

Adopting A Child Over the Age of 12 In Texas

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Most people looking to adopt in the state of Texas want a child that is a baby or still fairly young. Yet the adoption of teens is quite common if a step parent is looking to adopt the child or if another family member wants custody of the child. If you're looking to adopt an older child, make sure that you do the research or contact a Houston family law attorney on what is required for such an adoption.

Heart Gallery Encourages Adoption Through Art

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Foster children in Texas will find themselves on the wall of an art exhibit this Thursday with an art-exhibit style gallery at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. TWEAN News Channel of Austin reports that the gallery project was launched by the Central Texas organizations Adoption Coalition of Texas and CASA and that the goal of the project is to ultimately find foster children a permanent home.

The Heart Gallery of Central Texas will essentially feature professional portraits of children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted. The exhibit was put together by 60 renowned Central Texas photographers that volunteered their time. More than 140 children are featured in the works of art and in a video presentation titled "Beyond the Lens."

New York Governor Signs Gay Adoption Bill

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Gay couples across the country are slowly starting to gain more rights. This week, New York Governor David Paterson signed an adoption bill that allows gay and lesbian couples to jointly adopt a child in the state of New York. The new law also changes the language in the state's adoption statute from "husband and wife" to the gender-neutral term "married couple," according to On Top Magazine.

Gay marriage is still not legal in the state of New York, but legal marriages between same-sex couples are still recognized in the state. Granting adoption rights to same-sex couples in the state may encourage other U.S. states to pass similar measures. Some states currently limit or even outright ban gay couples from adopting.

Texas Shows Biggest Increase In Children Adopted From Foster Care

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Everything's always bigger in Texas. This includes the number of children that are adopted out of foster care.

The Lone Star State deserves the award for the greatest increase in children adopted out of foster care for the fiscal year of 2009. The federal government is awarding the state of Texas for this increase with more than $7.4 million. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced earlier this week that the government awarded a total of $39 million to 38 states and Puerto Rico for increasing the number of children adopted from foster care. This is all part of an incentive to improve child welfare programs.

Texan Woman Discovers She's Not a U.S. Citizen at Age 48

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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.

Study Shows Optimism in Gay Parenting

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Some critics of adoption among same-sex couples have voiced concerns that gender development will mirror that of their parents. Yet a study conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia and George Washington University shows that this is not true. According to the Washington Post, the study's findings have been published in the August issue of the journal Applied Developmental Science and are giving insight to the debate over gay parenting.

Drowning Victim Richard Walker Was Planning To Adopt

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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.

Sheryl Crow Adopts Second Child as a Single Parent

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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.