Gladney Center for Adoption

Rev. IZT Morris

The history of the center can be traced back to 1887. Fort Worth was established in 1849 and became the center's home, at the close of the Mexican–American War. By 1886, the Texas and Pacific Railway was operating and at least four stockyards were in service close to the railroad lines. The trains brought migrants from the southeast and, in 1887, the first "Orphan Train" from the northeast. The Orphan Train Movement transported roughly 200,000 children from the northeast throughout the Midwest and as far west as Texas.

Reverend IZT Morris (born Spalding Co, Georgia, 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 children while trying to identify permanent homes for them among local residents and slowly began the Texas Children's Home Society. It was formally chartered in 1896 and incorporated in 1904 as The Texas Children's Home and Aid Society.

In 1906, a house was purchased by the board of directors on Avenue H in the city of Fort Worth. The purpose was to house children until they could be placed with a permanent family. Reverend Morris was the State Superintendent, fundraiser and chairman of the board of directors until his death in 1914.[1] Reverend Morris was responsible for finding homes for some 1000 children. Isabella ("Belle") succeeded him and supervised the society until 1924.[2]

Edna Gladney (née Edna Browning Kahly, January 22, 1886) joined the Texas Children's Home and Aid Society's board of directors in 1910.[3] By 1927, she had been named superintendent. She 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.

Gladney served as superintendent for 33 years. In recognition of her continued contribution, in 1950 the board of directors renamed the agency The Edna Gladney Home. She continued as director until 1959 when failing health forced her into semi-retirement. She died in Fort Worth in 1961.[4]

Ruby Lee Piester took over Gladney's post. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Gladney's maternity services programs expanded. In 1970, Gladney's campus in Fort Worth included an on-campus middle school and high school operated by the Fort Worth Independent School District, with dormitories, hospital facilities and a career-development program and apartment living center for older women. Services were intended to meet residents' 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 offspring.

During this period, the 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. Career development and counseling services were available. The programs were licensed by the Texas Health and Human Services. All programs were offered free of charge to young women planning adoption.

Ruby Lee Piester joined the Home in 1960 as director of social services and was executive director from 1963 to 1983. During that time she supervised the placement of 7,800 babies. She and her husband did not have children. Piester died in 2003 and is buried at the Arwine Cemetery in Hurst, Texas.

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

For the Home's Centennial Celebration in 1987, First Lady Barbara Bush, a Gladney "grandparent", celebrated the occasion with the agency as a special guest.

Michael J. McMahon was named president in 1988, the first adoptive parent to hold the post. In 1991, the board of directors officially changed the name of the institution to the Gladney Center for Adoption to reflect its expanded services.

During McMahon's tenure the 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 biracial children; and its international adoption program in 1992. The first international "Gladney Baby" went home in March 1994 from Shanghai, China. Gladney celebrated its 1,000th international placement in 2002.

McMahon announced the sale of Gladney's campus on Hemphill St in Fort Worth 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. By the time of his retirement in 2008, McMahon had supervised the placement of 6,674 children from the US and around the world into permanent families.

Frank Garrott

Frank R. Garrott was named chief operating officer in 2007, taking over day-to-day operations. Before becoming COO, Garrott was on the board of directors of the Gladney Fund from 1997 to 2006. In 2008, Garrott was named president and CEO.[5]

Like his predecessor, Garrott is a Gladney adoptive parent. After a career in business consulting and banking with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Citibank and Bank One, he decided to focus on Gladney. He serves 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[6] and Children's Home Society of America.

Frank Garrott, who had an extraordinary record of success furthering the Gladney mission, announced his decision to retire in October 2017.

Mark Melson

On December 1, 2017, the Gladney Center of Adoption announced the appointment of Mark Melson to be the institution's president and CEO. Gladney's board chairman Christopher Dezzi said Melson's presence as a current and established Gladney leader offered a unique opportunity for a seamless transition to the position. [7] Like his predecessors, Melson is also a Gladney adoptive parent.

In 2021, Gladney voiced support for adult adoptee access to their Original Birth Certificates in response to current proposed legislation in Texas.

• Infant adoption provides permanent, 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.

• 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

• 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 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

• 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 four key areas: Quality of Life, Transition Programs for Older Orphans, Volunteer Service Trips, Emergency Relief/Special Projects