The Foreign Service Journal, February 2006

er, as a means of finding interesting post-retirement activities: both ALRI and SMATCH are heavily populated by former U.S. government foreign affairs folks. Both always welcome new members — take a look at their Web sites! Tom Wukitsch Arlington, Va. Advocating for Abused Children I retired from the Foreign Service in 1985 after almost 29 years. My overseas assignments included Hong Kong, Vietnam, Jamaica, Angola and Morocco. I have a law degree from The George Washington University, which I earned a few months after entering the Foreign Service. I had never practiced law but, fortunately, kept my bar admission alive by paying inac- tive dues. For a few years I practiced criminal defense in the District of Columbia, at the Superior Court, the Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court, but that was not really emo- tionally rewarding. Then in 1990, I began practicing as an advocate in the realm of child abuse and neglect. The cases usually stem from the abuse of drugs by the mother, and sometimes by the father, or because of alcohol abuse. In a few cases, they occur as a result of mental illness. In most cases, the children affected are immediately removed from the abusive situation by the court. They are placed, if possible, with a compe- tent relative, often the maternal grand- mother. If none is available, the child is placed in foster care or in a facility such as Sasha Bruce House. If an infant, the child is placed at St. Anne’s Children’s Home. The goal of the process is to provide services to the parent so that reunification with their children can be achieved. The services can include drug counseling and treat- ment, including treatment in a resi- dential facility, sometimes with the child. In the case of excessive disci- plining of a child, parenting and anger management courses are required of the parent. The children are consid- ered “endangered” for a variety of causes, such as beating, burning, starv- ing and being kept in restraints (being tied to a bed, for example). All involved are gratified if the pro- gram results in reunification. The reunified family is monitored for some months to demonstrate recov- ery, and to ensure that the child is no longer endangered. If such efforts fail, the legal process of termination of parental rights may follow. At that time, it is vital to have a fit family member prepared to care for or adopt the child. If none can be identified, other qualified persons, who have completed certain training, and have no significant criminal record, may petition to adopt the child. The mat- ter can go to formal mediation, and the parent there often agrees to the adoption, especially in the case of an adopting relative. Otherwise, the matter goes to trial, which is a painful and agonizing expe- rience for all involved. It is necessary to involve both birth parents. Some- times the birth father is not interest- ed, and is willing to relinquish his rights. Some fathers are incarcerat- ed for a long time, and have no abil- ity to be involved in the life of the child. Often, the father is unknown and a complex procedure of publica- tion must be followed, so that in the years to come he cannot come for- ward and challenge the adoption. The trial is an evidentiary hearing to determine if a parent is withholding consent to the adoption contrary to the best interest of the child. The wishes of the child can be consid- ered by the court when the child is over 7 years of age. Some children are abandoned at birth in a hospital, often by mothers who give a false identity to the hospi- tal. The mother has 60 days to change her mind, and come forward to claim her child. If not, the child is then available for adoption. In many respects the work is sad and troubling, but it can also be very heartwarming. That is so whether the parent succeeds in rehabilitation, and is reunited with the child or, as is more often the case, a wonderful and loving home is found for the child. I have found service with the Council for Child Abuse and Neglect very dif- ferent from a career in the Foreign Service. Yet, in some ways, it is simi- lar, especially when compared to assistance to Americans in trouble overseas. My experience has included finding prospective adoptive parents, finding essential medical and dental care for the children and many tough court battles in working on the cases of over 900 children. I still keep in touch with some of the families. I have also been active in AFSA, serving as a member of the Govern- ing Board and, in 1978, as the associ- ation’s vice president, and in Diplo- matic and Consular Officers, Retired, where I have served on the Board of Governors since 1988. I also served as DACOR’s vice president from 1997 to 1999 and president from 1999 to 2001. Ken Rogers Washington, D.C. From Private to Public and Back I retired in 1980 and entered the private sector for six years. After retir- ing a second time, I was called back in 1992 to assist USAID in opening up new offices in Moscow, Kiev, Yerevan and Almaty. For five months I worked in these four countries look- ing for office space and housing, transporting USAID manuals to the posts from the mailroom at Embassy F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 47