State laws pending to help ease adoption journey

FORT RECOVERY - The Lennartz family last week received an early Christmas present: two more children.

Theresa and Dan Lennartz of Fort Recovery officially adopted 7-year-old Nevaeh and 5-year-old Scott into their clan, which includes three birth children.

"We knew from the beginning they fit right into our family," Theresa Lennartz said.

The couple became foster parents to Nevaeh and Scott nearly a year ago on Christmas Eve day.

"They had such an unstable environment their whole life," she said, explaining their mother had drug issues and their father was in prison. "My heart just broke."

Not everyone seeking to adopt has a "happily ever after" outcome. Lennartz has a relative who would like to give a child a new start in life but expenses are holding him back, she said.

"It is very expensive. You think it would be less expensive since there's so many kids who need homes," Lennartz said.

Cost and time delays are some of the biggest obstacles encountered by people wishing to adopt. Several Ohio legislators, including Rep. Jim Buchy, R-Greenville, hope to pass an adoption reform bill by the end of the year that could ease the burden.

"I am working with Sen. (Keith) Faber (R-Celina) to see the contents of House Bill 307 become law before the end of the General Assembly (Dec. 31) because reforming Ohio's newborn adoption practices will encourage more young women to choose adoption in the blessing of an untimely pregnancy," Buchy told the newspaper.

HB 307 - supported by Ohio Right to Life - passed in the Ohio House in January but has not been approved by the Senate. However, it may soon be partnered with Senate Bill 250, Buchy said.

"Currently, discussions in the legislature revolve around Senate Bill 250, which is being carried by Senators Shannon Jones and Frank LaRose and House Bill 307," he said. "Each bill contains different proposals but they both have the same goal of increasing accessibility of domestic adoptions."

HB 307 would increase the current $1,500 tax credit for adoption to $10,000. It also would allow a birth father to declare or deny parental rights before the birth of his child if the birth mother chooses an adoption plan.

One of the key points of the bill would reduce the time an adoption decree can be challenged from 12 months to 60 days. Lennartz said the time factor was mentally draining for her family.

"We couldn't say they (adopted children) were ours until it was final. We didn't want to get their hopes up and get them crushed again," she said.

Lennartz said she understands circumstances can change the minds of birth parents. However, she believes reducing the time to 60 days is what's best for children who desperately need assurance and stability.

Several legislators agree.

"This bill, in essence, will help to dramatically reduce the costs and eliminate the unnecessary time and emotional burdens while still respecting the rights of birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptive children alike," state Rep. Dorothy Pelanda, R-Marysville, said in a news release.

Theresa Lennartz isn't the first person in her family to open her home to someone else's child. Ironically, Nevaeh and Scott's father was raised for a while by her parents. After he moved out, they temporarily lost contact with him. More than a year ago she learned his children were in foster care and the parents had lost custody rights.

The families' lives soon came full circle, she said.

"We decided about six months ago to adopt the kids," Lennartz said. "They're such great kids. They just want to be loved and have a stable home."