[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 21, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S9437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                WEST VIRGINIA'S 2004 ANGELS IN ADOPTION

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize a very 
special family from my home state of West Virginia. I am delighted that 
Pam and Morgan Lacefield of Moundsville, WV, will be recognized later 
this month as ``Angels in Adoption,'' a special award created by the 
Congressional Adoption Caucus.
  I would like to take a moment to tell you more about Pam, Morgan, and 
the entire Lacefield family. Pam and Morgan Lacefield are the proud 
parents of nine wonderful children. This large, loving bunch is typical 
of many: they are involved in a host of sports and activities. They do 
homework. They enjoy family meals together. There is one quality, 
however, that makes the Lakefield family special: Pam and Morgan have 
adopted every one of their nine children. It is not surprising that 
such a loving couple would also run a shelter for homeless animals with 
no where else to turn.
  In 1991, Pam and Morgan were managing a successful group of 
restaurants that they owned while also raising two children, whom they 
had previously adopted. They soon became aware of four siblings who 
were in need of a loving permanent home and who did not want to face 
separation. Pam and Morgan adopted them, too, bringing to six the total 
number of children in their home under the age of five. Later, they 
adopted another ``sibling group'' of three children, and they have been 
on the go ever since!
  True leaders in their community, Pam and Morgan have been involved in 
a number of charitable organizations within West Virginia, and were 
named West Virginia Parent Teachers' Association's Partners in 
Education for 1999-2000. And, eleven years after adopting their first 
sibling group, Pam and Morgan opened a ``no-kill'' animal shelter, 
which they named Webark Estates. Their examples of selflessness and 
commitment have not been lost on the youngest members of their family--
each of their children now helps at the shelter in some capacity, and 
it has become a labor of love for all of the Lacefields. It is a lucky 
child who can claim over 20 dogs and 80 cats as his pets, and it is a 
luckier child still who can claim Pam and Morgan Lacefield as parents. 
As you can see, they are clearly ``angels.''
  The Angels in Adoption Award recognizes individuals like the 
Lacefields who open their hearts and homes to children in foster care. 
On September 23, the Lacefields and other Angels will come to 
Washington in order to be recognized for their good works. The 
Lacefield family and the other Angel in Adoption nominees from around 
the country can help inspire everyone to continue efforts to ensure 
that every child has a safe, healthy, and permanent home and that, for 
some children, this is only possible through adoption.
  I have worked for many years in bipartisan coalitions to promote 
adoption and improved services for abused and neglected children. While 
these issues rarely command headlines, they change the lives of 
children and families across our country. People like the Lacefields 
and programs like Angels in Adoption remind us of the importance of our 
adoption and child welfare programs. In 1997, Congress passed the 
Adoption and Safe Families Act to ensure that a child's health and 
safety are paramount, and to express the belief that every child 
deserves a permanent home. Since then, adoptions from foster care have 
nearly doubled. While this is wonderful news, more than 100,000 
children remain in foster care. As the Lacefields and other adoptive 
parents would tell us, we clearly have more work to do.
  Mr. President, I am delighted to have had this opportunity to tell 
you more about the Lacefield family. I have long believed that the 
people of West Virginia are its greatest resource; individuals such as 
the Lacefields prove this point again and again.

                          ____________________