Foster Care Families
When I was born, California law on adoption had recently changed. My birthfather’s signature was required on the paperwork for my adoption. My birthmother had not told him of her pregnancy, nor did she intend to. She signed relinquishment paperwork for me the month before I was born, but since she did not have my birthfather’s signature, I was place in foster care until a signature was arranged.*
From my mother’s retelling of my childhood, I found out I was in three foster care homes over the course of three months. I’ve only found information about two of those. The first of the homes provided photos of me to the adoption agency, which I now have. In my adoption paperwork, there are notes about doctor’s visits, food allergies, and a presumed hearing defect, which was noticed by the last foster home.
I was adopted just before I turned four months old. That is the last time I heard from my foster parents.
As an adult, I know many families involved with our local foster care programs. They are all lovely people who either a) want to adopt a child through the foster care program or b) know that they want their home to be a gentle stop along the way for a child making their way back to their birth families. Sometimes one family becomes both things.
I wish there were a registry for foster families. I would love to be able to reach out to those families that took care of me when I was a baby. I would love to be able to say thank you to them. But there isn’t a foster home registry and there isn’t a way to request that information from the adoption agency. I’ve tried. So the best thing I can do now is support those friends I have now that have foster children. I can help out with my local CASA.
But still, if you’re out there and you fostered a baby named Laurie anytime from April til August in 1976 in San Diego, California — THANK YOU!!
*my birthmother’s husband was eventually deemed an okay substitute for my birthfather’s signature
