Adopting a child is the answer to many couples’ dreams, and Lisa Williams-McCallum of Adoption Services and Law Group, has helped hundreds of families nationwide make these dreams a reality.
“Besides myself, there are several adoptees in my family so focusing my practice on this area of the law just made sense,” she says. “I took an adoption law class at Washburn Law School and my professor was adoption attorney, Allan Hazlett. I knew right away what I wanted to practice.”
In addition to traditional infant adoption, Lisa says her firm also does stepparent, relative, adult, and foster care adoptions. “I have worked with families to create guardianships, conservatorships - anything that deals with the care and custody of children.” With Lisa’s assistance, David Grantham and Chris Noack are today the loving parents of two boys, Bentley, 10, and Zachary, 8. Zachary’s adoption by David was finalized in September of 2014. Because he and Chris were not yet married (same sex marriage was not legal in Kansas at that time), Chris would have to wait to officially adopt him.
Bentley had already been in their lives for much longer. “We became involved with Bentley when he was 6 weeks old, but his private adoption took longer, and he was adopted in June of 2015, nine months after Zachary,” says David. Zachary, who was born at 25 weeks gestation and only weighed 754 grams, had a host of medical issues, but today he is a happy and healthy boy. “At just 19 months apart, the two boys have always been very close brothers,” adds David. “I carry the insurance for the family, and it was suggested because of that, I be the adoptive parent,” says David. “In Kansas today, same-sex couples have to be married for both people to be able to adopt and that was not an option for us at that time.”
The couple married in February of this year, on their 35th anniversary, and Chris then adopted both boys on June 3, 2022. “We brought Zach home from the hospital on June 3, 2014, and ironically, on June 3, 2022, I became his and Bentley’s official adopted father.”
They are both so thankful for Lisa, who took care of everything from background investigations to document preparation. “She is very knowledgeable and has a lot of compassion,” says Chris. “She made the process very seamless and carried the weight.”
He adds, “She advocates for the child in every circumstance, and that has also been demonstrated by her work as a Guardian ad Litem for hundreds of kids through the Shawnee County Court system. Her plate is never too full when it comes to a child.”
While an adoption agency pairs expectant parents with people looking to adopt, a law firm ensures the adoption is legally secure. “You don’t think to turn to an attorney to begin your family building journey, but adoption is a pretty nuanced area of law,” says Lisa.
Lisa also assists expectant parents decide if adoption is the right thing for their baby. “An unplanned pregnancy can be a difficult time in a woman’s life - it is a true act of selflessness to place your baby for adoption. My job is to help make that decision making process as easy as possible and help this mother find her child their forever family.”
At the urging of her adoptive mother and son, she found her own birth mother in 2019. “She and my mom have become very good friends,” says Lisa. “They talk regularly and have a lot in common. I now have a large extended family in South Carolina and Georgia and even a cousin who lives in Wichita; he and I are quite close. My son lives in Chicago and my aunt, my birth mother's sister, lives a few blocks from him. Overall, it has been a positive experience.”
Once an adoption is complete, Lisa is still available to help as needed. “She knows how to guide a conversation where the kids are concerned because they all start asking questions at some point,” says Chris. “She directs us on the right path with answers and is a very good female role model for the boys.
“She’s very inclusive and it doesn't matter to her what your family nucleus is - whether you’re single, two females or two males, or from any ethnic background - it doesn't matter to her,” says David.
To find out more about Adoption Services and Law Group, go to theadoptiongroup.com.
