We need your help.

Currently, we are working to change the adoption laws in Utah to protect all parties and need all the help we can get.  Utah Senator Curtis Bramble has stated that he is willing to co-sponsor HB308 which was tabled during the 2012 session.  The problem is that the sponsor, Rep. Christine Watkins was not re-elected. 

HB308 would provide mandatory notice to all potential fathers that an adoption proceeding could be taking place as well as make fraudulent placements criminal for all parties involved.   We are aware that there are other issues which also need to be addressed and changed in Utah’s laws such as open adoption records and adoptions, protection of birth mother rights and options, interstate adoptions, Medicaid fraud, adoptive parent’s rights and most importantly the rights of the adoptee.  We will continue to make changes to the laws one step at a time as necessary until all are protected.  

Some of the issues of concern which held the bill in the 2012 legislative session were;
1. birth mothers would abort if they had to notify the father of the adoption
2. children needed to be placed quickly so that they could bond with the adoptive parents. 

Please help by emailing and/ or calling all Utah State Senators and House Representative requesting that they move to make the necessary changes in Utah adoption laws.  They need to hear from all sides from those who have been affected most by adoption, please give them your story. It is time to be heard.   We must take a stand now to change the laws and stop the current fraudulent actions in adoptions that are destroying one family to create another, which in the end hurts the voiceless children most of all.   Fraudulent adoption hurts adoptive parents and families as well; there is nothing good that comes from a foundation of lies and deception. 

If we stand together we can make a difference. Please forward this request through all social media sites, blogs, and news outlets. It doesn’t matter if you are located in Utah or not, Utah adoption laws affect those well beyond the state line. 

Take 10 minutes out of your day and please email the legislators today.

Senator Curt Bramble  curt@cbramble.com

Rep. Paul Ray pray@le.utah.gov

Rep. Edward Redd eredd@le.utah.gov

Rep. Ronda Menlove rmenlove@le.utah.gov

Rep. Michael Kennedy mkennedy@le.utah.gov

Rep. Brian Greene bgreene@le.utah.gov

Rep.  Lavar Christensen@le.utah.gov

Rep. Stewart Barlow sbarlow@le.utah.gov

Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck rchouck@le.utah.gov

Rep. Tim Cosgrovetcosgrove@le.utah.gov

Proposed bill would penalize adoption agencies for fraudulent representations

*** Please note some of the facts are slightly off, such as the year of birth of Jackson

By Marjorie Cortez , Deseret News

Published: Wednesday, Aug. 15 2012 7:58 p.m. MDT

SALT LAKE CITY — As state lawmakers consider possible amendments to the state adoption laws, one Utah man could learn as early as Thursday whether he can intervene in the adoption of his now 2-year-old son.
The adoption occurred without his knowledge or consent, despite his repeated representations to the birth mother of his intentions to co-parent the child, said attorney Wes Hutchins.
On Wednesday, the Utah Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee, saw photographs of the man and an obviously pregnant woman who was carrying the man's child, Hutchins said.
The woman is depicted in photographs touring Temple Square with the biological father and his family on Dec. 29, 2009. The following day, the baby was born, unbeknownst to the biological father, Jake Strickland. Just over 24 hours later, the birth mother signed documents relinquishing her parental rights.
Strickland had been told by the birth mother that the baby would be delivered by C-section on Jan. 12, 2010, Hutchins said.
On Jan. 5, 2010, however, the woman told Strickland in a cell phone conversation that she had placed the baby with an adoptive couple, he said.
Strickland initiated a paternity claim the following day. He had not, however, registered with Utah's putative father registry during the pregnancy.
Strickland later learned that the woman was not legally divorced from her husband, according to press reports. Under the state Judicial Code, a married woman's husband is presumed to be the father of her child.
Strickland and his family have been engaged in a legal fight over the adoption for more than two years. Second District Court Judge David Hamilton could rule on the case as early as Thursday, said Strickland's mother, Jenny Graham.
Hutchins, a family law attorney now representing Strickland, told the legislative committee that many pregnant young women from other states come to Utah to place their babies for adoption because Utah law has weak protections for biological fathers.
Hutchins told lawmakers that some agencies even "coach" birth mothers what to tell biological fathers who inquire about the child's birth or their rights.
Among western states, few have as many paternal rights cases that go up to appellate courts, which suggest problems with Utah's laws, he said.
Rep. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, who is also an attorney, said it could also be construed that Utah's higher courts are more amenable to hearing such cases.
To that end, Rep. Christine Watkins, D-Price, has developed a legislative proposal to further regulate the activities of adoption agencies.
A draft discussed by state lawmakers Wednesday contemplates sanctions for adoption agencies or employees of such agencies who make fraudulent representations in connection with adoptions.
Agency licenses could be suspended, even revoked, according to the proposal. The proposal also includes a provision in which a party that challenges a fraudulent representation in connection with an adoption and prevails, can be awarded attorney fees and costs.
Under the proposed legislation, notice of an adoption must be provided to an unmarried biological father of a child six months old or younger.
McCay said that portion of the draft legislation raised concerns because adoptive parents need to know that an adoption, when finalized, is final.
"I think there is some value to the finality and getting the kid out of the middle of a fight," McCay said.
Hutchins, who told lawmakers that he has worked in family law for two decades, agreed that parents need that assurance.
He said he believes the attorney fees provision of the draft legislation would persuade any party against making false representations that could disrupt a placement.
Watkins asked the committee to take time to study the proposal and allow her to make further refinements before the interim committee takes any action.

Court hearing over baby's adoption may mark change in fathers' rights in Utah

Fox13

Aaron Vaughn, Web Producer FOX 13 News

9:45 p.m. MST, February 28, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY—

Robert Manzanares lives in New Mexico. For the past four years he has traveled to Utah waging a legal battle to get his daughter back.

Manzanares says he has taken a hit emotionally and financially with legal fees totaling more than $170,000. A recent Utah Supreme Court ruling is giving him a glimmer of hope.   

---

Get It Now: FOX 13 News E-mail Newsletters and Text Message Alerts | Mobile Web Site and Smartphone Apps | Twitter and Facebook

---

   
Manzanares has been a part of his son's life since the day he was born, but he's a stranger to his 4-year-old daughter Kaia. Manzanares says his ex-girlfriend placed Kaia with an adoptive family without his consent.

“About 3 months into the pregnancy, she determined she needed to end the relationship with me. And that's when the conversation of adoption occurred,” said Manzanares.

Manzanares says he was against giving his daughter up and told his ex-girlfriend, Carie Terry. that he would take responsibility of raising the girl his own.

“She tried to get the Family Services in Colorado involved to try to work with us and try to get me to meet with them. I kept telling them, no, no, no,” said Manzanares.

Manzanares, who isn't LDS, claims her Mormon bishop encouraged them to give up their parental rights and place the child with a Mormon family.

Although the couple broke up, Manzanares said he continued to pay for child support and offered to take her to doctor appointments.

“Obviously, she cut me off,” Mazanares says.

He says that began the legal process.

“I filed for paternity action in Colorado along with an injunction to adoption because I had this fear that she was going to adopt this child either way in the state of Colorado,” Manzanares said.

While the two were waiting for a scheduled court hearing, Terry told Manzanares she was going to Utah to visit her sick father. But adoption records in Utah lay out a different story. Terry had the baby prematurely in Utah and finalized the adoption, giving the baby to her brother and his wife, leaving Robert unaware.

“She had given her consent to the adoption the same day of the Colorado hearing. Actually, it was parallel meetings that happened within minutes of each other,” he said.

Robert then launched a legal battle, both in Utah and Colorado. His attorney warned him it wouldn't be easy and that Utah laws make it tough for unwed fathers.

“A law on its face may have a good objective, but here it's taken a turn for the worse and here they're providing a safe harbor for mothers to flee to Utah to give birth to their child and not have the dad to consent to an adoption,” said adoption attorney John Hedrick.

Manzanares filed for paternity in Utah, but a district judge upheld the adoption. The Utah Supreme Court took the case and on Jan. 27 of this year, they reversed that decision sending it back to district court. It was a ruling favoring a biological father, the first time in Utah’s history and what some call groundbreaking.

Carrie Terry declined an interview with FOX 13, but released a statement that says in part:

Vilification of the circumstances and the people involved will not help the child, who most benefits most from adoption. It is my hope that in future legal proceedings and in the attention given to this case, the focus will be on what is best for the child and her needs.

Utah's adoption law is supposed to balance the interests of the state, mother, biological father, infant and adoptive parents. The rights of biological fathers are an issue being taken up at the Capitol during the current legislative session.

Hearing tomorrow!

HB308 is going to be heard again tomorrow at 2:00 PM at the Utah State Capitol. We need to have people there in support of the bill passing to be able to have the bill move forward. If you see a need for adoption reform, please please come out and voice your opinion to those who can actually make a difference, the legislation.

We thank you again for all of your support!

Also, a side note, we have a new attorney representing our case, Wes Hutchins. He is actually a sponsor on the bill HB308 and is the President of the Utah Adoption Council. We are so excited to have him on our team and we know with his help we will be able to make a difference!

HB308

This past week has been very exciting for progress in finally changing the adoption laws in the state of Utah regarding unwed father's rights. Although, HB308 didn't ultimately fix every problem with the current law, it was a great step to show the legislative that there is major problem with the current law. On Monday, the committee over HB308 decided to put a hold on the bill until Thursday to give more time to research some questions that were brought up.

On Thursday, the courtroom was full of emotional testimony and truly showed the major flaws that are currently in the adoption laws. I will be posting videos of testimony from David Hardy, Jenny Graham, Dan Deuel, Lisa Harris, Donna Pope, and a few others.

The committee voted 5-3 that this bill needs to be put on hold until the Summer to get more of the major kinks worked out. They saw the great need for reform and wanted to get it right, not just put a bill into place that wouldn't truly solve the problem at hand.

Although, this bill was a step in the right direction it ultimately still did not take fraud out of the law. We have been working with Wes Hutchins, President of the Utah Adoption Council, as well as the sponsor of this bill Christine Watkins of Price, to suggest ways we can make this bill truly effective to protect father's rights.

Wes Hutchins, an adoptive father, and an adoption attorney, has become a strong advocate for us in helping get the laws changed. He will be on the radio on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 9:00 AM on radio station KCPW, NPR 88.3 FM, 105.3 FM. He will be talking about the bill, adoption reform, the ruling on the Robert Manzanares Case, etc. Please tune in or call in to discuss this topic.

Thank you again for all of your support. We are making a difference!

We need your help!

Thank you so much for all of your support with getting our sweet little baby Jackson Michael Strickland back. Thank you for signing the petition and spreading the word on many blogs, facebook pages, twitter, etc. We have had many people ask how they can help and this is how you can. You can help change the Utah adoption laws.  House Bill 308 represented by Christine Watkins is revising the current adoption laws for unwed father's. There is a hearing tomorrow, Feb. 9th 2012, at the Utah State Capitol builidng at 4:00 PM. We need people to flood the court room in support of this bill passing. Although, this bill will not help with getting our sweet little Jack back, it will help future father's and families not have to deal with the heartache we have endure the past year. The hearing will be located in the Northwest building, the house building, in room 25W.

We can not thank you enough for how much this support will mean to us and all of the unwed father's out there.

Thank you and God Bless!

The Strickland Family