Susan Piland

Angels in Adoption 2005 - California

Selected by Representative Lynn Woolsey

Susan Piland has worked tirelessly to bring transparencyto immigrant children in foster care. Before being adopted, her immigrant son Vincente was placed in numerous foster homes. In 1999, he moved in with her and within a month she filed paperwork for adoption. A year later, when she went to apply for a Social Security number for Vincente, she was shocked to find out he was not a legal U.S. citizen. After 5 years of headache and heartache, Susan's son gained legal status and became a citizen of the United States. Her son is now safe, but she strives to help the many children who are not. Out of this 5-year battle to protect her own son, SueCares (www.suecares.com) evolved and became a nonprofit organization. Her goal has been to become an advocate for foreign-born children who are dependents of the court and adoptive U.S. parents by providing them, through legislation, the funds and resources to navigate the federal and state court systems. I have worked with Susan to develop legislation to ensure that once an immigrant child is legally adopted in the United States, he or she will automatically become a citizen of the United States. I commend her for her tenacious advocacy on this important issue and her willingness to discuss her family's heart wrenching experience to make a positive change in our adoption system. It is hard enough being a foster child born in America trying to find a home, but immigrant children and their foster parents face even more frustrating obstacles in their quest to have and provide a stable life. Susan's experience is a prime example why we must provide foster parents with more information and rights so they can provide warm loving homes for immigrant children without fear for the child being deported or further uprooted.

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