SELAH — When Mark came into Rosemary Luce’s life a few years ago as a foster child, he didn’t talk. But now, at age 4, he’s an eager conversationalist, and proudly tells visitors that he will formally become Mark Luce.
Rosemary Luce, 63, is adopting Mark in a ceremony in Yakima County Superior Court, where 13 other new families will seal their bonds before Commissioner Robert Inouye.
The ceremony today is a rare public adoption proceeding designed to celebrate National Adoption Day, which is Saturday, and remind would-be adoptive parents that there are hundreds of children statewide who need to start over with a new family.
In 2009, there were 9,546 children in foster care in Washington state, with about 1,750 of them available for adoption because the courts had permanently terminated their biological parents’ right to raise them.
The number of children adopted this year from the state’s foster care system was up by 550 because of an extra effort made by the Department of Social and Health Services to close a number of long-standing cases, said spokesman Thomas Shapley.
In Yakima, the 14 adoptions are double last year’s number because there are simply more children needing homes, said DSHS social worker Cheri Holden.
Many of the new parents are relatives of the children.
“We have a lot of relatives stepping up, which is nice because the child doesn’t have to go into a foster home, which is the unknown,” Holden said.
In Luce’s comfortable home in Selah, Mark, who was removed from his biological parents at age 2, found safety and love.
“When he got out of the car, I fell in love with him. He had the saddest eyes,” Luce said.
Withdrawn and angry, Mark was a challenge for Luce. But she said she talked to him all the time and literally got down to his level.
“Everything he did, I did with him. Not to smother him, but show him he was wanted and that he would be fine. Little by little, he began to see it,” she said.
Their bond grew daily and Luce, who is a widow, notified DSHS two years ago that she wanted to adopt the boy.
“I was terrified that somebody else was going to get him,” she said.
The process started in earnest more than a year ago with a home visit and background checks.
Luce said one social worker quizzed her on whether, at her age, she wouldn’t rather be traveling and enjoying retirement.
“She was testing me, and my daughter said, ‘Mom, are you sure?’ But I was sure. This was one thing nobody was going to talk me out of.”
Luce, who raised three daughters and now has seven grandchildren, also takes care of a foster girl. She quit her office job six years ago to focus on foster parenting.
“I wanted to be with kids. I wanted to give kids a chance,” she said.
According to adoption.com, the age of adoptive parents has been creeping up as baby boomers who put off childbearing realize they want children after all. Older parents can offer emotional and financial stability, the site states.
Since the 1980s, state law has said that anyone who is legally competent and 18 or older can adopt a child.
Kathy Spears, spokeswoman for DSHS in Olympia, said the most critical decision in approving an adoptive parent is the adoption home study.
Social workers visit the home and interview family and friends to find out what the home life will be like.
“That’s where they really make the determination to see if that person has the ability to parent,” Spears said.
Holden noted there are other myths surrounding adoption.
“A lot of people aren’t aware they can adopt. They think you have to be rich or live in a big house. Nobody has to have money and a big home to have lots of love,” she said.
Luce describes every day as an adventure with Mark.
“Every day is fun. He’s growing,” she said. “He’s been good for me, and I’ve been good for him.”
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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, www.yakima-herald.com
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