CONTACT:

Prof. Kent Markus, Director Tuesday, February 24, 2004

National Center for Adoption Law & Policy

Capital University Law School

614.236.6545 (voice)

614.236.6956 (fax)

kmarkus@law.capital.edu (email)

Nation’s only ADOPTION Law WebSite

Reaches one million hits in Just seven months

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- The nation’s only comprehensive website regarding the law of adoption – www.adoptionlawsite.org – reached the one million hit threshold today, just seven months after it was launched in July of 2003 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Developed by The National Center for Adoption Law & Policy (NCALP) at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, the site has proven to be an important – and well-utilized – new resource for child welfare and adoption professionals, child advocates, adoptive, foster and birth parents and all those concerned with or effected by child welfare and adoption law.

The Adoption LawSite provides free access to adoption related statutes and regulations, as well as the key cases and articles, from every U.S. state and territory, along with federal and international materials. Construction of the LawSite was primarily funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (secured through the efforts of Congresswoman Deborah Pryce – OH-15). Seed funding for the project was made available by the Ohio State Bar Foundation and critical support for its development and maintenance has been provided by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Students at Capital University Law School have provided more than 10,000 hours of research, analysis and writing towards the creation and upkeep of the site.

NCALP's director, Professor Kent Markus, emphasized the usefulness of one of the LawSite’s features designed particularly with lay users in mind. “We’ve provided plain English summaries of the laws and key cases in each state with links from the summaries to those laws and cases. Now, anybody can find out about who must consent to an adoption, when parental rights can be involuntarily terminated by a court, or what the rules are for step-parent adoptions.”

Thousands of people, including judges, attorneys, family advocacy stakeholders and prospective adoptive parents have completed the LawSite's simple and free registration process and have helped themselves to the resources available to them on the site. NCALP continues to pursue funding sources to help expand the LawSite in the future and aid in the Center's overall core mission to improve the law, policies, and practices associated with child protection and adoption systems.

For in-depth information about the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy at Capital University Law School, including its mission, current projects and upcoming national symposium, contact its Director, Professor Kent Markus, at 614.236.6545 or visit the Center’s Website at www.ncalp.org. Professor Markus offers the only course in Adoption Law regularly available at an American law school and he is currently writing the first-ever Adoption Law casebook for law school faculty and students.

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