Post by RS Davis on Sept 9, 2004 18:21:04 GMT -5
Gay dads get daughters plus praise from judge
By CURTIS KRUEGER, Times Staff Writer
Published September 9, 2004
LARGO - Two young girls from Florida's foster care system should be allowed to live permanently with the two gay men they call "Dad and Daddy," Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Irene Sullivan ruled Wednesday.
Denying a motion that could have moved the girls away, Sullivan said the state owes the two men "a debt of gratitude" for the way they took in two troubled foster children, now ages 6 and 7, and transformed their lives.
"I'm going to personally thank Dad and Daddy here, for in their way, stopping the cycle of abuse," Sullivan said. She even suggested the state use the men to train other foster parents.
"It's not just love, it's love, experience, background, intelligence. They seem to have it all," Sullivan said of Curtis Watson, 40, a licensed foster parent, and his life partner, who is in his 40s and works for a health facility.
Watson and his partner, wearing yellow daisies on their lapels, dabbed tears from their eyes after the ruling. About a dozen supporters with identical flowers broke into applause. Watson said he felt "extreme joy" and a chance to "move on with our lives."
Assistant State Attorney Dane DiSano said he was unsure if the state Department of Children and Families would appeal.
Sullivan's ruling, which she issued verbally after a full day of testimony and closing statements, dealt only with the narrow question of whether child welfare workers followed the right procedures when they recommended that the two sisters live in the long-term custody of the two gay men.
But beneath the surface, the case touched on a Florida law that bans gay people from adopting children. Karen Doering, an attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights who attended the proceedings, said the ruling was highly significant.
"Despite the state's protestations to the contrary, this was absolutely about sexual orientation," she said.
The saga began last year when a caseworker under contract with DCF was trying desperately to find a temporary home for a girl so violent and temperamental that she had been in 17 different foster homes in two months.
The caseworker called Watson, who agreed to take in the girl.
As he recounted from the witness stand Wednesday, the girl "cussed us out and flipped us off." But she stayed for a week, and then another, and eventually her sister came to stay also, with the caseworker's approval.
A total of 29 foster children have stayed at the Seminole home for varying lengths of time.
Watson and his partner - who was not identified in court - worked with the girls. They put them in time-out when they misbehaved, gave them chores, helped with homework and took them to their church.
In time, bonds of love formed, Watson testified Wednesday.
He read from a letter which the older girl wrote: Dear Dads: I love you. You love me when I am bad and when I am good. You gave me a home when no one would. I'm here forever.
Several witnesses in the case, including those called by the state, agreed that the children's behavior had improved dramatically in a short time after living with Watson and his partner.
Clinical psychologist Robert S. Klein, who was appointed by the court to evaluate the girls, testified Wednesday of "an improvement not only in their emotionality, but in their intellectual functioning."
"It's incredible to watch Curtis work with" the younger girl, Klein said, noting his "loving firmness" and overall patience. "It'd be a lesson for all parents."
Observations like these were the reason representatives of Family Continuity Programs, which formerly oversaw foster care programs in Pinellas and Pasco counties, decided to recommend the girls stay in the long-term custody of Watson and his partner.
This was a somewhat unusual arrangement.
Most children who have been permanently removed from abusive or neglectful parents are put up for adoption. State law says adoption is the best option because it gives children the best chance for a lifelong, loving home.
But Watson and his partner are prohibited from adopting children because they are gay.
Caseworkers working under the auspices of DCF ultimately came up with another arrangement, known as long-term nonrelative custody, which gave the couple permanent custody but not the full legal status of adoptive parents.
Judge Sullivan signed an order in March making the arrangement official.
Shortly afterward, the state officials decided they had made a mistake in agreeing to the arrangement. They filed a motion to reopen the case, saying caseworkers had not tried hard enough to find an adoptive home.
In testimony earlier in the trial, some former caseworkers raised doubts about whether the state had worked aggressively enough to seek out adoptive parents for the two girls, as well as for a third sister, who was staying in another home.
A Hillsborough County woman testified that she and her husband offered to adopt all three but were turned down by caseworkers.
Sullivan said Wednesday the state may have made some mistakes along the way. But she said those errors "pale in comparison" to the benefits the girls were getting from their new home.
DiSano, of the state attorney's office, stressed that the state was not trying to take the children away from Watson and his partner in the short term. But the state's motion did raise the prospect of ultimately allowing another family to adopt the girls.
Klein, the psychologist, spoke forcefully Wednesday in saying that moving the children could be devastating and "will cause irreparable harm and they will never trust anyone again."
The written version of Sullivan's order will be issued later.
In addition to the potential question of an appeal, DiSano urged Sullivan to make her order apply only to Watson, not to his partner. She said she would consider the matter.
By CURTIS KRUEGER, Times Staff Writer
Published September 9, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Times photo: Lara Cerri]
Curtis Watson responds to his attorney's reading in court Wednesday of a note to him from
one of his foster children: "You love me when I am bad and when I am good.
You gave me a home when no one would," it said in part.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Times photo: Lara Cerri]
Curtis Watson responds to his attorney's reading in court Wednesday of a note to him from
one of his foster children: "You love me when I am bad and when I am good.
You gave me a home when no one would," it said in part.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LARGO - Two young girls from Florida's foster care system should be allowed to live permanently with the two gay men they call "Dad and Daddy," Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Irene Sullivan ruled Wednesday.
Denying a motion that could have moved the girls away, Sullivan said the state owes the two men "a debt of gratitude" for the way they took in two troubled foster children, now ages 6 and 7, and transformed their lives.
"I'm going to personally thank Dad and Daddy here, for in their way, stopping the cycle of abuse," Sullivan said. She even suggested the state use the men to train other foster parents.
"It's not just love, it's love, experience, background, intelligence. They seem to have it all," Sullivan said of Curtis Watson, 40, a licensed foster parent, and his life partner, who is in his 40s and works for a health facility.
Watson and his partner, wearing yellow daisies on their lapels, dabbed tears from their eyes after the ruling. About a dozen supporters with identical flowers broke into applause. Watson said he felt "extreme joy" and a chance to "move on with our lives."
Assistant State Attorney Dane DiSano said he was unsure if the state Department of Children and Families would appeal.
Sullivan's ruling, which she issued verbally after a full day of testimony and closing statements, dealt only with the narrow question of whether child welfare workers followed the right procedures when they recommended that the two sisters live in the long-term custody of the two gay men.
But beneath the surface, the case touched on a Florida law that bans gay people from adopting children. Karen Doering, an attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights who attended the proceedings, said the ruling was highly significant.
"Despite the state's protestations to the contrary, this was absolutely about sexual orientation," she said.
The saga began last year when a caseworker under contract with DCF was trying desperately to find a temporary home for a girl so violent and temperamental that she had been in 17 different foster homes in two months.
The caseworker called Watson, who agreed to take in the girl.
As he recounted from the witness stand Wednesday, the girl "cussed us out and flipped us off." But she stayed for a week, and then another, and eventually her sister came to stay also, with the caseworker's approval.
A total of 29 foster children have stayed at the Seminole home for varying lengths of time.
Watson and his partner - who was not identified in court - worked with the girls. They put them in time-out when they misbehaved, gave them chores, helped with homework and took them to their church.
In time, bonds of love formed, Watson testified Wednesday.
He read from a letter which the older girl wrote: Dear Dads: I love you. You love me when I am bad and when I am good. You gave me a home when no one would. I'm here forever.
Several witnesses in the case, including those called by the state, agreed that the children's behavior had improved dramatically in a short time after living with Watson and his partner.
Clinical psychologist Robert S. Klein, who was appointed by the court to evaluate the girls, testified Wednesday of "an improvement not only in their emotionality, but in their intellectual functioning."
"It's incredible to watch Curtis work with" the younger girl, Klein said, noting his "loving firmness" and overall patience. "It'd be a lesson for all parents."
Observations like these were the reason representatives of Family Continuity Programs, which formerly oversaw foster care programs in Pinellas and Pasco counties, decided to recommend the girls stay in the long-term custody of Watson and his partner.
This was a somewhat unusual arrangement.
Most children who have been permanently removed from abusive or neglectful parents are put up for adoption. State law says adoption is the best option because it gives children the best chance for a lifelong, loving home.
But Watson and his partner are prohibited from adopting children because they are gay.
Caseworkers working under the auspices of DCF ultimately came up with another arrangement, known as long-term nonrelative custody, which gave the couple permanent custody but not the full legal status of adoptive parents.
Judge Sullivan signed an order in March making the arrangement official.
Shortly afterward, the state officials decided they had made a mistake in agreeing to the arrangement. They filed a motion to reopen the case, saying caseworkers had not tried hard enough to find an adoptive home.
In testimony earlier in the trial, some former caseworkers raised doubts about whether the state had worked aggressively enough to seek out adoptive parents for the two girls, as well as for a third sister, who was staying in another home.
A Hillsborough County woman testified that she and her husband offered to adopt all three but were turned down by caseworkers.
Sullivan said Wednesday the state may have made some mistakes along the way. But she said those errors "pale in comparison" to the benefits the girls were getting from their new home.
DiSano, of the state attorney's office, stressed that the state was not trying to take the children away from Watson and his partner in the short term. But the state's motion did raise the prospect of ultimately allowing another family to adopt the girls.
Klein, the psychologist, spoke forcefully Wednesday in saying that moving the children could be devastating and "will cause irreparable harm and they will never trust anyone again."
The written version of Sullivan's order will be issued later.
In addition to the potential question of an appeal, DiSano urged Sullivan to make her order apply only to Watson, not to his partner. She said she would consider the matter.
Bless her heart, love Judge Irene Sullivan! 
