One of the true feel-good moments Leslie Barrows, of Barrows Firm Attorneys & Mediators in Southlake, experiences is when she helps families connect through adoption.
November is national Adoption Awareness Month, and it’s a good time to reflect on all the positives that come from Barrows’ work, the hard work of others across North Texas and across the country, and the many successful matches that Barrows and her team have seen over the years.
“I enjoy working with, and for, kids. Providing a voice for those who might not otherwise be heard is very important to me,” she says.
For over 15 years, Leslie Barrows has dedicated her legal career to helping families navigate some of life’s most complex – and rewarding – challenges. While increasing awareness about adoptions and other juvenile matters, Barrows handles both private adoptions and works through the courts systems to help children find their forever homes. The success stories of those she’s helped are numerous, and it’s always a special day when a match is made between a child and an adoptive family. This connection could be with a foster family, relatives, a stepparent or others offering a safe, secure home for a child.
“There’s a lot of joy in helping families find these connections. Sometimes we see people wanting to adopt who were adopted themselves – they can especially relate because they’ve been through it too,” Barrows notes. “Other times we see couples who have tried for years to have children, either through expensive IVF treatments or through heartbreaking failed adoptions, or both.”
For years, Barrows has participated in National Adoption Day, a collective, grassroots effort to raise awareness of the more than 113,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States. A coalition of national partners — the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Alliance for Children’s Rights and Children’s Action Network — launched the initiative in 1999. During this event, courts and organizations across the country open their doors on or around the Saturday before Thanksgiving to finalize and celebrate adoptions from foster care.
The goal of this effort is to dramatically increase the number of adoptions for children waiting in U.S. foster care systems, to help them find a permanent home and loving family.
Local courtrooms are decorated, kids can get photos with costumed characters representing Marvel or Disney, and family photos are taken. It’s like a big birthday party.
There’s no cost to fosters, relatives or others adopting a child, as fees are subsidized by Child Protective Services. The public charity CASA of Tarrant County and the Tarrant County Family Law Bar Association are also supporters of this event.
“It feels so good at the end of the day as all the volunteers, families and children who have secured their forever homes leave the downtown Tarrant County Family Law Center. It’s especially meaningful that this is held so close to Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season,” Barrows says.
A major success story is when teenagers are adopted, she notes, as infants and younger children are usually the first to be chosen.
“Some kids are in the care of the courts for a long time, and it’s such a relief for them when the process is finally over,” Barrows notes.
“Bringing adoptive parents and foster children together and into permanent homes is among the most rewarding things I get to do,” she says. “Adoptions are a beautiful thing for children and their forever families.”
In addition to helping families navigate the legal intricacies of adoption, Barrows also specializes in divorce, child custody, estate planning, wills and probate.
“As a mother of three boys myself," she says, "I understand the importance of family and the challenges that life can present. It’s my privilege to advocate for families in many different situations and truly make a difference in their lives.”