New Dads Spoil the Princess

By E. Parker Herring, executive director

On Placement Day with Hallie Grace June 2017

I am fortunate to see a lot of happy, new fathers on placement day in our office. This adoption was especially touching because these two dads had been waiting to adopt for five years. Married in 2015, and domestic partners for more than 23 years, they felt the instant love with their daughter.

Their little girl is named Hallie Grace. Dwayne and Scott held her so tenderly. With her pink bow placed just so on her head, Hallie Grace smiled a bit as they went on about every feature in her tiny face.

Dwayne and Scott reached out to me in February 2017 when they learned that the adoption agency they had been signed with for five years had suddenly closed. The closing of Independent Adoption Centers left many prospective adoptive parents in shock and in despair. Dwayne and Scott had been matched with a birthmother just before IAC closed, and they needed help with counseling the birthmother and finalizing the adoption upon placement.

When we first met in our offices, the two of them joked about how they would be able to take good care of a little girl. “We figure that I can keep her hair always done just right,” said Scott, who owns his own hair salon. “And Dwayne, as a sheriff, can always keep her safe.”

Hallie Grace, 5 months old Halloween 2017

Something tells me that this little girl will be a princess from the start. As the first Father’s Day and first Halloween will never be the same, there are lots of firsts still to come, including their first love.

Each November marks National Adoption Awareness Month, it gives us pause to still be looking at misconceptions in adoption. Every step is about understanding that not all families look the same. Some have one parent, others have two. In some cases, all the family members are from the same racial background, in others multiple races are represented. In some, there is a mom and a dad, in others there may be two moms or two dads. Some are in contact with the birthparents, many are not. None of this really makes a difference. Want does? The ability of the parent or parents to provide a happy, nurturing, safe home filled with love. I certainly saw that in Dwayne and Scott. 

A mother of three children, E. Parker Herring has a deep respect and understanding of family law and the adoption process (for which she’s adopted two children of her own). She is the founder and director of A Child’s Hope, a North Carolina licensed adoption agency located in Raleigh that focuses on helping birthmothers and families looking to adopt within the state. A Child’s Hope has placed more than 300 children since 2000, and is the only North Carolina domestic adoption agency directed by an attorney. Herring is a Board-Certified Family Law Specialist who has practiced family law for nearly 30 years in the Raleigh area. She’s a member of the NC Bar Association, the Wake County Bar Association, and the NC Collaborative Lawyers.