By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The U.S. Office of Civil Rights report describes 16 cases in which investigators believe Hamilton County adoption officials violated the rights of prospective parents and kids in interracial cases. In the three cases outlined here, pseudonyms are used to protect individuals' privacy:

Leah

A white family in Fairbanks, Alaska, inquired in 1994 about adopting a 2-year-old black child with dwarfism and fetal alcohol syndrome. The family had already adopted several kids with dwarfism and other special needs. Despite getting glowing reports on the family, county adoption workers raised concerns about the lack of black people in Alaska and the climate.

One worker told the Office of Civil Rights: "We actually kind of sat around and looked at this videotape of (the family's) home while it was snowing and like several feet of snow, and this child was a dwarf, and that was a concern over that, just literally - we weren't trying to be facetious - her having a problem walking around in the snow."

The Alaskan family was not presented to the selection committee as an option; instead, the committee selected a black Columbus woman who had multiple sclerosis. The woman said she did not want a child with dwarfism.

A family in Illinois then inquired about Leah. The family was white but the mom had dwarfism and they had already adopted a biracial child with dwarfism. An adoption supervisor raised concerns about whether the family lived in an integrated neighborhood. The family withdrew their application.

In June 1995, 15 months after the county took custody of Leah, she was placed with a single white woman in Cleveland who lived in an integrated neighborhood and had biracial brothers. Cuyahoga County averages more snow than Fairbanks, the report noted.

Ann Darling

Darling, a special education teacher, applied to adopt a child of any race in 1996. A single white woman, she was encouraged by her caseworker to make extra efforts to show she could raise an African-American child.

The caseworker told investigators she knew the selection committee would not approve Darling as a match with a black child just on the basis of "her being a good person, a good prospective adoptive parent or her experience working with disabled children."

After Darling and the caseworker made those extra efforts, Darling was presented as a possible match for a black toddler. A black couple was selected instead, however, with the selection committee minutes noting of her: "Resides in predominately Caucasian neighborhood, not willing to relocate - family is nearby."

Darling was later matched with a white child, but when that fell through she gave up on the county agency and decided to adopt through a private agency instead.

Steven

A white couple from Mount Washington initially said they preferred to adopt a female white child without disabilities but then said they would accept a black child of either gender. The selection committee considered them for matches on at least four occasions but rejected them because of their predominately white neighborhood and acquaintances.

Through friends, the couple met Steven, a black toddler with a club foot who was living in a foster home. The child became attached to the couple, and they applied to adopt him. The selection committee approved the match, but when the couple learned the vote was 5-3, they lodged a complaint that the dissents were based on their race.

After the couple adopted Steven, they were denied the full subsidy they should have received for his disability. The move was in retaliation for the complaint, investigators found, although the subsidy was granted after a four-month delay.