Lillian's Timeline

On May 14, 2007 Susan went to the court file room to pull a copy of court order for Dwayne (biological sibling) to travel to Jamaica with our church. There in the file was an order terminating the parental rights to a sister, Asiah Simone Jones, born November 2006. She was placed in foster care under Methodist Children's Home Society (MCHS) Redford, Michigan on November 17, 2006.

On September 27, 2007, Judge Hartsfield signed a court order naming us as prospective adoptive parents (PAP) and clearly ordering "VISITS BETWEEN CHILD AND PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENT (PAP) SHOULD BEGIN WITHIN 7-14 DAYS."; "VISITS SHOULD BEGIN WITH PAP WITHIN 7-14 DAYS." MCHS FAILED to comply with this court order.

On May 12, 2008, Judge Hartsfield signed another court order naming us as PAP and ordering transitioning of Asiah to our home. MCHS FAILED to comply with this court order.

On August 8, 2008 at Asiah's court hearing, Judge Hartsfield was not content regarding lack of PAP visitation, also ordered the MCHS worker subpoened to face possible contempt charges for failing to obtain infant mental health screening (ordered February 19, 2008). Judge Hartsfield documents in court order "THERE HAVE BEEN NO VISITS WITH THE PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS, CONTRARY TO COURT ORDER". Court also orders our "PROGRESSIVE VISITATIONS" with Asiah.

August 11, 2008 Asiah gets first PAP visit.

August 19, 2008 Asiah has infant mental health screening, six months after court order.

August 23, 2008 Asiah has first overnight in our home. She cries quite a bit. Susan is her fourth mother, but Mark is her first daddy. She decides daddy is a good thing and she readily accepts comfort from Mark.

October 24, 2008 Asiah moves to our home forever.

October 27, 2008 we file the petition to adopt and are given legal adoptive placement of Lillian Asiah.

November 12, 2008 Lillian celebrates her second birthday.

March 10, 2009 at court hearing for "Asiah", L-GAL and Adoption worker recommend final order of adoption within two weeks and waiving the six month period. Our completed adoption file is hand delivered by our adoption worker to the adoption unit.

April 27, 2009, the six month adoptive placement statutory requirement has been accomplished, but no final order of adoption is issued.

May 4, 2009 we contact our agency because we have not received the final order of adoption.

May 4 - 6, 2009 our adoption worker calls the adoption department at the court and speaks with several people, but the questions about our final order of adoption remain unanswered.

May 6, 2009 our worker goes in person to the court. The court clerk is in a meeting. She waits and eventually sees the court clerk face to face.

Paraphrase of May 6th conversation between our adoption worker and the court clerk, who excused the missing paperwork by telling our worker that she didn't give our adoption file to herself--

Worker: Why isn't theSweetman adoption processed?

Court Clerk: We never received their paperwork, must be lost in the mail.

Worker: I hand delivered it mid March.

Court Clerk:Well, the person you gave it to never gave it to me.

Worker: I hand delivered it to you.

Court Clerk: Well, I don't have it. They cut our staff. We are over worked. I'm inexperienced (despite doing adoptions for over three years).

Worker then faxed the court everything the same day, but the clerk STILL claimed she didn't have our paperwork.

May 7, 2009 our attorney paid a visit to the adoption unit and in a "miracle" the file appeared.

May 13, 2009 Judge Leslie Kim Smith signed the final order of adoption. PRAISE BE TO GOD!