[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 26848]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING DONNA AND STEVE HILL

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 4, 2007

  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Madam Speaker, I rise before you today to honor 
Donna and Steve Hill. The Hills originally came to the Baltimore County 
Department of Social Services interested in adopting 1 child, a boy. 
They had 3 daughters and were very much interested in adding a son to 
their family. The agency placed a young boy in their home who lacked 
impulse control and required a great deal of time, attention, and 
therapy. They were presented with many more challenges than they had 
expected. Several months later, the agency learned that a sibling of 
this child was also in foster care in Baltimore City, in a therapeutic 
foster home. When approached about taking this second child, a girl, 
the Hills again stepped up to the plate. In an effort to keep the 
siblings together, they agreed to be parents for this special-needs 
little girl as well.
  When the sister was placed with the Hills, she had to share a room 
with the Hills' youngest daughter. After a short period of time, it was 
evident that the 2 girls, being so close in age, were in constant 
rivalry due to a lack of their own space. As a result, the Hills 
decided to put an addition on their home to ensure that the siblings 
could continue to live together. Though the 2 children were biological 
siblings, they had never lived together since entering foster care and 
had not formed any significant attachment to each other.
  The foster son was struggling with multiple emotional challenges, and 
the Hills pursued intensive individual and family therapy to stabilize 
both children. The Hills officially adopted their 10-year-old daughter 
on March 23, 2007. They are still working toward adopting their foster 
son, who has expressed some reluctance because of ties to his 
biological father. This family has consistently put the needs of the 
children first. They have dealt with many difficult situations, while 
at the same time providing a stable, loving home environment for the 
children in their care. In addition, if this family had not gone above 
and beyond their original request to adopt 1 boy, these 2 siblings 
would not have had the opportunity to live together.
  Madam Speaker, today I ask that you join with me in honoring Donna 
and Steve Hill for being unsung adoption heroes and I am honored to 
recognize them in the Angel in Adoption program.

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