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= Gladney Center for Adoption =

Early History
The Gladney Center for Adoption in Fort Worth, Texas can trace its history back to 1887. Fort Worth was established in 1849 at the close of the Mexican-American War. By 1886 the Texas and Pacific Railway had arrived and at least four stockyards were in service near the railroad lines. This was the beginning of a period of rapid growth as the trains brought migrants from the south east and, in 1887, the first “Orphan Train” from the north east. During the Orphan Train Movement roughly 200,000 children were transported from cities in the north east to farms, factories and homes throughout the Midwest and as far west as Texas.

Reverend IZT Morris (born Spalding Co, GA, March 21, 1847), a Methodist circuit minister, began locating homes for children who had reached the end of the line in Fort Worth. He and his wife Isabella took in many of these children while trying to identify permanent homes for them among local residents. In this way the Texas Children's Home Society came into existence. It was formally chartered in 1896 and incorporated in 1904 as The Texas Children's Home and Aid Society.

In 1906 the Board of Directors purchased a house on Avenue H in Fort Worth where children lived until the time of their placement with a family. Reverend Morris was the State Superintendent, fundraiser and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Texas Children’s Home and Aid Society until his death in 1914. At the time of his death Reverend Morris had been responsible for finding homes for 1000 children. His wife Isabella (“Belle”) succeeded him and supervised the Society until 1924.

Edna Gladney (ne: Edna Browning Kahly, Jan 22, 1886) joined the Texas Children’s Home and Aid Society’s Board of Directors in 1910. By 1927 she had been named Superintendent. As Superintendent she continued to care for abandoned and mistreated children and to find adoptive families for them. She also widened the scope of services to include the needs of “unwed mothers” and provided adoption services for their babies. In 1949 she convinced the Board of Directors to purchase a small hospital, the West Texas Maternity Home, so that these women could receive medical care throughout their pregnancies and have a private place to deliver their babies. The Texas Children’s Home and Aid Society also operated a Baby Home where infants were cared for until they were adopted.

Edna Gladney served as Superintendent of The Texas Children's Home and Aid Society for 33 years. In recognition of her continued contribution, in 1950 the Board of Directors voted to rename the agency The Edna Gladney Home. She continued as Director until 1959 when failing health forced her into semi-retirement. Edna Gladney died in Fort Worth, Texas in 1961.

1960-1985
After Edna Gladney retired in 1959, Ruby Lee Piester took over her post at The Edna Gladney Home. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Gladney's maternity services programs continued to expand. In 1970 Gladney’s campus in Fort Worth, Texas included an on-campus middle school and high school operated by the Fort Worth Independent School District, dormitories, hospital facilities and a career-development program and apartment living center for older women. Services provided to residents were intended to meet both their physical and emotional needs with an emphasis on providing a non-judgmental environment where these women were encouraged to think positively about their future and that of their child.

During this period the Edna Gladney Home’s residential facilities could accommodate up to 150 women, included a chapel, swimming pool, miniature golf course, and provided both traditional school environments for middle school and high school students and a GED preparation and testing program. Also offered were career development and counseling for residents and those who chose to live in the community. The programs were licensed by the Texas Department of Human Services, and all programs were offered free of charge to young women planning adoption.

Ruby Lee Piester joined the Edna Gladney Home in 1960 as Director of Social Services. She served as Executive Director from 1963 to 1983. During that time she supervised the placement of 7,800 babies into adoptive families. She and her husband did not have any children of their own, but reportedly, when asked how many children she had, Mrs. Piester answered, "thousands." Ruby Lee Piester died in 2003.

In the 1970s services were again expanded to include women living in the community in addition to those living in the Edna Gladney Home. Believed to be the first of its kind in the country, Gladney offered a free crisis pregnancy telephone hotline in 1976. During her tenure, Ruby Lee Piester also pioneered an adoption program that identified adoptive parents for children born with special medical needs.

In 1987 marked the Centennial Celebration for the Edna Gladney Home. First Lady Barbara Bush, a Gladney grandparent, celebrated the occasion with the agency as a special guest.

1990-Present
Michael J. McMahon was named President of the Gladney Center in 1988. He was the first adoptive parent to hold the post. In 1991 the Board of Director’s officially changed the name of the institution to the Gladney Center for Adoption to reflect its expanded services.

During Mike’s tenure the Gladney Center for Adoption evolved into the agency it is today. Under his leadership the Gladney Center launched three new adoption programs; New Beginnings, which places children from Texas foster care with permanent families; the ABC program, Gladney’s infant adoption program centered on meeting the needs of African American and Bi-racial children; and its international adoption program in 1992. The first “Gladney Baby” adopted internationally came home in March, 1994 from Shanghai, China. Gladney celebrated its 1000th international placement in 2002.

Mike McMahon announced sale of Gladney’s campus on Hemphill St in Fort Worth, Texas to the Fort Worth Independent School District in June, 1999. Groundbreaking for the new campus took place in October, 2000. The agency moved to its present location in southwest Fort Worth in 2002. The campus includes a Visitor’s Center and Adoption Museum, a counseling center, dormitory, recreational facilities, educational space, career counseling and administrative offices.

Frank R. Garrott was named to the position of Chief Operating Officer in 2007, taking over day-to-day operations at the Gladney Center. Prior to being named as COO, Frank served on the Board of Directors of the Gladney Fund from 1997-2006. Upon Mike McMahon’s retirement in 2008, Frank was named President and CEO. By the time of his retirement in 2008, Mike had supervised the placement of 6,674 children from the US and around the world into permanent families.

Like his predecessor, Mike McMahon, Frank Garrott is a Gladney adoptive parent. After a career in business consulting and banking with Price Waterhouse, Citibank and Bank One, Frank turned his talents to Gladney. He has joined Gladney’s tradition of leadership with service on the Board of the Christian Mission for the United Nations Community and recently joined the Board of Directors of the Joint Council on International Children's Services and Children's Home Society of America.

Advocacy
Beginning with Reverend IZT Morris’ commitment to finding homes, not just employment, for the children who arrived on the Orphan Trains, Gladney has had a history of advocacy. Edna Gladney led two major initiatives resulting in significant changes to adoption practices. First, in 1936 she successfully lobbied the Texas legislature to have the word illegitimate kept off birth certificates. As a result of her efforts the state of Texas began issuing second birth certificates in the names of adoptive parents.

Her second legislative victory came in 1951. She had lobbied the Texas legislature to grant adopted children the same inheritance rights as biological children. Further, she successfully argued that these children should be legally adopted rather than placed in long-term guardianship, as was the practice at the time. As a result of the tenacity and passion she put into her lobbying efforts, Edna Gladney was known within the Texas legislature as “that Gladney woman.”

Mrs. Piester also became well-known for her adoption advocacy. Ruby Lee Piester was associated with various boards of social agencies. She is credited with having launched the first Child Welfare Advisory Board for Regional Licensing, which was established in Fort Worth for the State Department of Public Welfare. She also represented the State of Texas on numerous committees including the Texas Governor’s Committee to Promote Adoption, the Governor’s Commission for Children and Youth, the State Advisory Committee on Child Care Facilities and the Texas Association of Licensed Maternity and Adoption Services.

In 1980 Ruby Lee Piester co-founded, along with other leading adoption professionals, the National Committee for Adoption (now the National Council for Adoption) to focus on adoption advocacy on behalf of all members of the adoption triad – the birthparents, adopted child and adoptive parents. Despite opposition from adoption advocates across the country, a Draft Model State Adoption Act in was published for comments in February, 1980. She realized that, if passed, the bill would permit adoption records to be opened without regard to the original promise of privacy or confidentiality made to birthparents. NCFA’s first official campaign worked to revise the law to better serve all parties.

The Gladney Center has also worked to establish the Texas Voluntary Registry, which enables adult adopted children and birth families to make contact, or “match” when both parties enroll in the registry.

Awards and Recognition
After an MGM publicist and his wife adopted a child from the Texas Children’s Home and Aid Society he presented Mrs. Gladney’s life story to then head of MGM studios, Louis Mayer. The story of her life’s work were the foundation for the 1941 film, Blossoms in the Dust. Greer Garson played Mrs. Gladney and Walter Pidgeon player her husband Sam. Blossoms in the Dust was in the Top Ten films of 1941 and was nominated for four Academy Awards — Best Picture, Best Actress, Color Cinematography, and Color Interior Decoration, winning the Oscar for Color Interior Decoration. Edna Gladney was paid $5,000 for the rights to her story which she donated to the Texas Children’s Home and Aid Society.

In 1953 Edna Gladney appeared on the television show This Is Your Life, where she was honored for a career in which she oversaw the placement of more than 10,000 children into permanent families. Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth, granted Mrs. Gladney an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1957.

The National Council for Adoption in Washington DC named its headquarters after Mrs. Piester (named the Ruby Lee Piester Center) in 1995. Texas Governor George Bush asked her to serve on a special committee to improve the Texas foster care system, and she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame.

In April, 1991, Ruby Lee Piester was inducted into the Adoption Hall of Fame by the National Committee for Adoption (now NCFA) and honored for 35 years of dedication to the adoption cause.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas nominated Mike McMahon for the Angel in Adoption award in 2008. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) honored him at an awards ceremony in Washington, DC, September 16, 2008.

In 2007 the Gladney Center for Adoption was among the first US adoption agencies accredited by the Council on Adoption as a Hague-compliant agency. The Hague Convention protects against unethical, unlawful and inhumane adoption practices among adoption providers by establishing a set of standards for countries involved in international adoption.

There are plans to induct the Gladney Center for Adoption into the NCFA Adoption Hall of Fame as it celebrates 125 years of serving families, children and birth parents in 2012.

Fundraising
Beginning with IZT Morris the leadership of the Gladney Center has taken a personal role in fundraising for this not-for-profit organization. Reverend Morris was known as “the man with the basket.” Reportedly local railroad officials provided Rev. Morris with free rail passes to support his work raising funds for the orphans he served. Edna Gladney placed milk bottles in local retail shops as a way to raise money for the Texas Home and Aid Society.

The first Gladney Auxiliary was formed in 1952 in Houston, Texas. The Dallas Auxiliary was established in 1953 and together these volunteer organizations raised a $600,000 endowment for the Edna Gladney Home. The Fort Worth Auxiliary was formed in 1964 and held its first fundraiser, the Blossoms in the Dust Luncheon in 1965. The longest running fundraising event in its history, the 47th Blossoms in the Dust Luncheon was held in 2011. Over time the Auxiliaries evolved to provide volunteers, fundraising and support to Gladney adoptive families and were later renamed Gladney Family Associations. Today there are 18 Gladney Family Associations across the US.

The Gladney Fund was established in 1992 to raise and manage funds for the Gladney Center for Adoption. In 1999 a group of volunteers hosted the first Gladney Cup charity golf event at Colonial Country Club, the event’s "home" course in Fort Worth, Texas. Since that time, six Gladney Cup events have been hosted at several U.S. Open golf courses throughout the US. The event raises funds and awareness in support of the Gladney Center.

Services
Gladney provides Adoption Programs, maternity services, Home Study services, preparation and training for adoptive families, counseling and support, adoption education and advocacy, and humanitarian aid.

Adoption Programs

 * Infant adoption provides permanent, loving homes for newborns and toddlers of all races and backgrounds born in the United States
 * New Beginnings provides adoptive families for children currently available for adoption and waiting in the Texas state foster care system, and for children born with special medical needs
 * International adoption unites adoptive parents with children born in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe or Latin America

Maternity Services

 * Pregnancy support hotline for women experiencing unplanned pregnancy
 * Residential and community based programs for women planning adoption
 * Counseling and support
 * Educational and career development opportunities
 * Lifetime post-adoption support and counseling

Family Training and Support

 * Home Study services
 * Pre-adoption training and preparation classes
 * Specialized training and support for families adopting older or special needs children
 * Specialized training for families adopting children from foster care
 * Lifetime post-adoption support and counseling
 * Parent-to-Parent support through Gladney Family Associations (GFA)

Adoption Education and Advocacy

 * Adoption awareness and training for the community
 * Adoption awareness and training for healthcare and social work students and professionals
 * Community partnerships with pregnancy resource centers and health care facilities
 * Participation in advocacy organizations including National Council for Adoption (NCFA), Joint Council on International Children’s Services, Counsel of Accreditation, Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services, Children’s Home Society of America, American Academy of Adoption Attorneys

Fundraising and Philanthropy

 * Annual fundraising events sponsored by GFAs
 * Bi-annual Gladney Cup
 * Philanthropic initiatives provide adoption education, and support children who will not be adopted in the US and other countries where Gladney works
 * Humanitarian initiatives in 4 key areas; Quality of Life, Transition Programs for Older Orphans, Volunteer Service Trips, Emergency Relief/Special Projects