January 26, 2000

Pastors not licensed for adoptions
___Adela Jones has a warning for pastors and other local church leaders facilitating adoptions: "It's illegal."
___Jones, clinical director for domestic adoption with Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services, said the practice is a "common concern" among adoption professionals. "This practice has been going on for many years, mainly because of a lack of knowledge on the part of the folks who do this."
___She warned, though, that "what they're doing is illegal in the state of Texas. Under the current statutes, adoptions in Texas can be facilitated only by licensed child-placing agencies."
___Jones noted that many of the illegal adoptions are arranged by pastors and "take the form of someone knowing of someone else who wants to place a child and knowing a family who wants a child. That's almost always how it plays out."
___The practice is typically "almost always done from the point of view of trying to help," she added. "On one hand, there's a family in crisis because a daughter or sister is experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, and a well-wishing pastor may say, 'Well, I'll just bring these folks together and work things out.' But it's 'the bringing together and working it out' that is what the law was designed to prevent."
___Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services will help any pastor or church leader find the most appropriate and legal way to facilitate an adoption.

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