The Story of Sirita Soleto

The following information is from Sirita's last foster father; the person who could have saved her life if he'd been allowed to adopt like he had wanted.

In 2002, my wife and I became foster parents. Our first long term foster child was a beautiful little girl named Sirita Sotelo. She was three years old. She had been in foster care since the day she was born, having tested positive for cocaine at birth. She was removed from her mother six times and placed in eight different foster homes. Ours was number eight. She had deep emotional and behavioral problems caused by years in the system. We loved her, and after her biological mother ran out of chances to get her back, we thought we would adopt her.

Her biological father had little contact with her for most of her life and previously not sought custody because Sirita was the product of an extra-marital affair, and he was still married to the same woman he was married to when he had the affair with Siritas mother. However, when faced with termination of his parental rights, he decided he wanted her. We worried about the many risk factors in the placement, including Siritas behavioral issues.

To the stepmother she would be the product of her husbands infidelity, and we worried she would be a Cinderella. But we knew nothing about the courts or the system, and did as we were told. We gave Sirita over nine months after she came into our home. A year later, she was dead. Her step mother had beaten her to death, three weeks before her fifth birthday. We were devastated.

I knew what was wrong with the system, and I realized it was time to for change. I went to the local media and the Washington State Legislature and pushed for Siritas Law to limit how long a child stays in the system and how many times a child would be returned to abusive dysfunctional families. After two years, the law passed with a package of foster care reforms.

www.myspace.com/angelsirita

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Sirita
• Soleto
• Foster
• Care
• Child
• Abuse
• Washington
• Parents
• Sirita's
• Law