Local family touts the importance of adoption

The Black family poses for a quick photo in front of their fireplace at home. From left, Phillip, Tom, Jo Ellen and Micaela. (Rachel Harper/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

The Blacks began fostering an eight-year-old boy, Phillip, who was in Jo's second-grade class at Southeast Elementary School.

Phillip would stay after school once or twice a week to work on homework and other important skills a second-grader should be acquiring. Jo and Tom would take Phillip once a week to Pizza Hut.

"We got pretty attached to Phil," Jo said. Then she found out that Phil and his six-year-old sister, Micaela, would be available for adoption.

The Blacks have already raised two children, Haley, 20, and Tommy, 18, who are both attending college now.

When Jo mentioned the fact that Phillip would be available for adoption, Tom and Tommy immediately told her, "We have to adopt Phillip."

Jo said, "We had not met Micaela but we knew we wanted her because we already loved Phil."

So after a family discussion, Jo, Tom, Haley and Tommy showed up at the local Department of Family Services (DFS) the first week of January.

The Blacks were first told they would not be able to adopt the two children because they hadn't been through the adoption training yet.

Jo said that Tom, a National Guard recruiting officer, told the person, "You tell me what hoops I have to jump through and I will do it."

In the meantime, Phillip had no idea this process was taking place. The Blacks did paperwork, interviews, background checks, training courses and everything else in the sometimes grueling process.

"DFS was fantastic," Tom said.

"The judge and DFS worked so closely with us," Jo said.

The judge placed both Phillip and Micaela in a kinship placement with the couple. Jo said being Phillip's teacher helped out tremendously.

While Haley and Tommy gave up their rooms upstairs and moved to the basement without any complaints, Phillip and Micaela got to decorate their rooms. "They got to pick out their own colors and everything," Jo said. Little did they know that those rooms would permanently be theirs.

"We were taking training concurrently while they were in our house," she said.

Jo said she had no idea they would ever consider adopting.

"We had the whole empty nest thing planned," she said about trips they had planned to take.

Tom said, "We adopted because we saw two kids in need of a good home. Our ships crossed at the same time."

The process the Blacks went through to adopt these two children began Jan. 4, when they showed up at the DFS office. The adoption was complete on Oct. 10.

"That was a quick adoption," Tom said. "I didn't realize there were kids right here in town that need homes."

Jo said that "we would love to talk to anyone" considering fostering or adopting children and DFS would be more than happy to do so, too.

Both children have their own rooms for the first time. They have been to Branson and will be going to Orlando, Fla.

Phillip said the best thing about being adopted by the Blacks is "everything and getting baptized."

Micaela said, "everything" and getting a new bike.

"We sure are blessed to have two awesome kids," Jo said, noting that Phillip and Micaela's "family has been very supportive of the adoption."

Kerry Carney, resource development and adoption worker for Saline County Children's Division, said nearly 2,000 Missouri children are currently waiting to be adopted.

"The Children's Division is seeking families who are open to parenting children of various ages and cultures," Carney said. "We have a particular need for families willing to consider children of minority heritage, older youth and sibling groups."

When children who have been abused or neglected cannot safely return home, adoption can help children find their "forever" families.

The Missouri Children's Division helps thousands of deserving young children who can't safely return home find loving and lasting homes through adoption.

On average, more than 1,300 Missouri children are adopted each year.

In 2006, 10 children were adopted from Saline and Lafayette counties through the Children's Division.

"Currently, we have 15 children in Saline and Lafayette counties awaiting adoption," Carney said.

For more information on fostering or adopting local children, contact Carney at (660) 886-5562.

Contact Rachel Harper at

marshallcity@socket.net