Plenty of eyes were on Georgia this month as a hotly-contested governor’s race played out. Not everyone realized that the two candidates had some thing significant in common: both of them had experience with the foster care system and adoption.
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Bottoms, the next Governor of Atlanta, served as a guardian ad litem and also represented children in the juvenile court in Atlanta. This introduced her, she said, to children “hoping and searching for stability and love.”
That experience led to her adopting four children over the years as she and her husband grew their family in this very beautiful way.
Rick Jackson
Bottoms’s opponent, Rick Jackson, had his own story of foster care which did not, for him, lead to adoption. He entered foster care at the age of 13. He and Bottoms both dealt with parental substance abuse and the loss of their fathers, but Bottoms remained with her mother while her father was incarcerated. Jackson went into foster care, living in five different foster homes plus an orphan’s home before he aged out of he system at 18.
“It was very difficult just to survive, but it created a foundation of independence and control that probably has impacted my career, my life, for a long time now,” he said.
Coincidence?
Some news stories have played up the coincidence that these political rivals had some similar life experiences. But actually, there are many children in need of adoption. Sadly, there are many older children who do not have the benefit of being adopted into a safe and stable home. Fortunately, there are also many families prepared to adopt children who need loving homes.
At Heimer Law, providing legal support for adoption is our focus. Call us or use our simple form to get in touch. Whether you seek to adopt, have a child who needs a stable home, or want to make your family arrangements permanent, we can help.
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