History is full of scandals. Even the history of adoption contains some shocking scandals. The good news is that these scandals led to the safe, legal adoption system we have today. One of the most shocking scandals was the Baby-Snatching scandal at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society.
The story of Georgia Tann
Georgia Tann was a social worker who ran an unlicensed private adoption agency called the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. For three decades, she played the part of a kind and helpful woman finding homes for vulnerable children. In that time, she placed some 5,000 babies. Many of the infants went to wealthy people, including actresses Joan Crawford and June Allyson. Eleanor Roosevelt consulted Tann and she was invited to President Truman’s inauguration. She became wealthy herself with the proceeds of her adoption agency.
It was not until 1950 that the terrible secret was revealed: Tann had stolen many of the babies, and sold them to her customers. In many cases, no legal adoptions took place — just the sale of the babies.
How did Tann get the children she placed?
Tann preyed on vulnerable women, getting them to sign relinquishment papers while still under anesthesia, telling them that their babies had died, and otherwise coercing them to give up their children. She also had a gang of “spotters” — people she hired to look for unsupervised children and even to kidnap them.
Tann was politically active, fighting for secret, closed adoptions and sealed adoption records. This allowed her to alter the birth certificates and adoption papers of the children she stole without getting caught. Sometimes the parents of the children tried to get their babies back, but Tann was able to deceive the authorities and the parents were not able to prove their cases.
What happened to Tann?
After decades of criminal activity, Tann’s misdeeds finally came out. In 1950, the story began to unravel. She was charged with crimes, but died before she went to trial. After her death, the scandal broke and made front-page news across the country.
Long-term effects
Closed adoptions are still possible, but they are much less common than they used to be. When they do take place, they are conducted according to law and the records are carefully managed.
Most modern adoptions are open adoptions. Whether open or closed, all adoptions nowadays are carefully overseen to make sure that the best interests of the child are put first, and that the rights of all the parties in the adoption are protected.
The shocking stories of people like Tann clearly show why it is so important to have a legal adoption in every case. Heimer Law knows Arkansas adoption law backwards and forwards and can help you through the complex legal journey that will result in the growth of your family through the beautiful process of adoption.
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