TITLE: The Juvenile Justice System and Out-of-Home Placements

DESCRIPTION:

This We the Experts panel centers adoptees who, as children, have experienced the juvenile justice system or any out-of-home placements after adoption. Often missing from mainstream conversations is how these types of placements impact an adoptee’s identity and the impact it can have on other siblings living in the home who are also adoptees. Together, we will examine how community, policy, more holistic adoptee-centered post adoption education, and support systems can better serve adoptees and families impacted by incarceration, criminalization, pathologization and out-of-home placements. Points to Ponder:

What changes are needed within adoption practices to better support youth?
How might early experiences of loss or instability within an adoptive family influence a young person’s relationship with authority, trust, or safety?
What does healing look like after being labeled a “troubled youth”?
How do punitive actions on the part of adoptive parents derail the adoptee’s sense of safety, bonding/connection with the adoptive family, and create further opportunities for trauma.

Panelists:

Linda Pevac (she/her) APPROVED

Linda Pevac, aka Emma Stevens, is a U.S. domestic, same-race adoptee from the baby scoop era. She was adopted at four months old. Her adoptive brother, Gary, was 2 ½ years older and adopted from the same agency when he was the same age.

Linda is the author of three memoirs: The Gathering Place: An Adoptee’s Story, A Fire is Coming, and her latest release, Choosing to Breathe. These books form a trilogy that narrates her healing journey, shaped by relinquishment, adoption, and a childhood home where her adoptive parents did not celebrate her identity or her brother Gary’s. She hopes her memoirs will empower other adoptees to find their voices, honor their stories, and understand that they matter.

Linda is honored to be part of this panel to share what she witnessed in her adoptive home, including her older brother being sent to an outdoor wilderness camp in Colorado called Outward Bound.

Mar Osma de Forest (they/them/elle) APPROVED

Mar Osma de Forest (they, them, elle) is a project manager and researcher at Adoption Mosaic, a BIPOC, women founded and adoptee led organization. Before working with the organization they volunteered on Adoption Mosaic's 501 (c)(3) board, the Adoption Constellations magazine, and Youth Activity Groups. They have worked in libraries for 15 years where they advocated for equitable access to information, increased accessibility of space and resources, and centering stories and narratives from marginalized communities.

Their experience as a displaced, bought and sold person, with 7 other transracially adopted siblings raised by an adoption professional gives them a unique perspective on adoption and the industry of care. Throughout their formative and adult years they saw how the industry of adoption perpetuates itself and neglects or ignores the voices and needs of children who experience family separation and/or displacement. Their work emphasizes centering the voices of those most impacted, solidarity with children, and equitable access to information and resources for all.

Josiah “Will” Uhrlaub (he/him) - APPROVED Josiah Uhrlaub is a Haitian interracial adoptee who has reconnected with his family and rebuilt strong bonds with his country and culture. His mission is to support Haitian adoptees through the emotional and practical journey of searching for their families and navigating reconnection, while fostering community, healing, and pride within the Haitian diaspora.