Thursday, May 23, 1996

Bush Praises Foster Parents, Establishes Adoption Committee

By Associated Press

AUSTIN (AP) - Gov. George W. Bush announced Wednesday a task force to study ways to improve the state's adoption process.

Bush praised foster parents invited to a picnic at the Governor's Mansion where he named the new panel. He said they were making a difference in children's lives and should be commended.
But the governor added that there are not enough foster parents in Texas and the adoption process takes too long.

"The number of children available for adoption in Texas is growing while the number of adoptions is declining," Bush said. "We must reverse this trend because all Texas children need and deserve stable and secure homes."

Eva Brown, an 18-year-old from San Antonio, told the governor that her foster family, now her adoptive family, made a real difference in her life.

She was a foster child in the Browns' home for 8-1/2 years before her adoption was completed.
"I can't tell you how thankful I am that my parents got involved," she said. "If they didn't, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Bush named 13 members to the Governor's Committee to Promote Adoption. The committee has until Sept. 1 to come up with recommendations:

- To cut the two-year adoption process in half.
- To encourage more people to become foster and adoptive parents.
- To make Texas a more "adoptive friendly" state by imposing time limits on court and administrative actions.

The members include:
- John Bowie, pastor of the True Light Baptist Church in Houston.
- Irene Clements, director of foster care for Lutheran Social Services, in Marion.
- John Criswell, a news anchor for KDFW-TV in Dallas.
- Monsignor Marvin Doerfler, executive director of the St. Peter-St. Joseph Children's Home, in San Antonio.
- David Garza, a Brownsville attorney.
- Holly Ruth Hall, a Sherman social worker.
- Probate Judge Max Higgs, of El Paso County.
- Marye Lou Maudlin, a board member of Adopting Children Together, in Arlington.
- Jerome Rocky Milton, pastor of Pleasant Hills Baptist Church, in Tyler.
- Margaret O'Brien-Molina, an adoptive parent from Houston.
- Ruby Lee Piester, a Fort Worth consultant for Executive Service Corp. and Adopt a Special Kid.
- San Antonio Dr. James Rogers, executive director of Child Guidance Center.
- Jane Wetzel, of Dallas and a member of the Governor's Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Advisory Board.