USA Today: The South helped lead the way on abortion bans, Is the adoption system ready?
Photo Credit: Stephanie Amador / The Tennessean
For Jeremy Harrell and his wife, Michelle, who adopted two half-sisters through the private domestic adoption process, the adoption of their oldest daughter took three years from the initial home visit to finalizing the documents in court.
Spurred by his own experiences, Harrell co-founded The Adoption Project in Nashville with the hope of creating policies that make the process easier for all parties involved in both private adoptions and those through the foster care system.
“They're doing the best job they can,” Harrell said. "The system needs to be better, but nobody's working on the system itself."
Photo Credit: Stephanie Amador / The Tennessean
For Harrell, co-founder of The Adoption Project, the adoption process for his two daughters took an emotional toll on their biological mother. And while they stay in contact and send the mother pictures of her daughters, Harrell said more should be done to support the mental health of mothers who relinquish their children.
“There is a tremendous amount of grief in that decision, regardless of your reason for making it,” Harrell said. “And we should be making sure that that person has access to real comprehensive mental health care from a mental health professional.”
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