NCFA Media : Archived News

The courts fail Evan Scott and forcibly return him to biological mother

February 2 , 2005

Duval County Judge Waddell Wallace of Jacksonville, FL. ordered Evan Scott, nearly 4 years old, to be removed from the home of Gene and Dawn Scott who had sought to adopt him and cared for him since his infancy. Judge Wallace ordered Evan placed in the custody of his biological mother, but Evan’s permanent placement has still not been determined after all this time. As NCFA President Tom Atwood said on “Larry King Live” regarding this case, “Evan, this little boy, is entitled, and all along has been entitled, to a timely and responsible permanent placement decision. It is the job of the courts to make that happen. The courts let Evan down. They did not resolve the issue of the biological father’s rights in a timely manner. And they allowed what should have been a decision about the best interests of this little boy to become a debate over parental rights.” Atwood spoke similarly on Evan’s behalf on the CBS network’s “The Early Show” and on NBC’s “Today” show. He also assured prospective adoptive parents that such cases are “exceedingly rare,” though they should “never happen” at all.

The courts’ failure with respect to this case provides further illustration of the need to establish performance measures for courts in order to hold them accountable for their handling of adoption cases, both private adoptions and adoptions out of foster care. To avoid future “Evan Scott” cases, standards should be established for courts requiring that, in private adoptions disputed by the biological father: the case is assigned to one judge, one court (there have been nine judges involved in Evan’s case to date); a best interests hearing is held within a short period of time (30 days, perhaps) after the biological father files for custody of the child (there was never a best interest hearing held for Evan); and the permanent placement decision will be issued by the court within a short period of time after the biological father’s petition for custody (60 days perhaps).

Though cases lingering for years, such as Evan’s, are rare in private adoptions, the problem of children languishing in foster care due to poor court performance is quite common. NCFA is developing recommendations for performance measures for courts that policymakers and the general public can use to hold courts accountable for performance that better serves children in foster care.
Stay tuned.

On CBS' "The Early Show," NCFA President Thomas Atwood offered his perspective on the case and sound advice to those considering adoption. Click here to read or view the CBS interview.

Thomas Atwood also appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" to discuss the case. Click here to read a transcript of the conversation.