Couple allowed to adopt California twins whose Indian ancestry was issue Story-Date: 12:01 a.m. PST Tuesday , December 8, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------ Couple allowed to adopt California twins whose Indian ancestry was issue By Nancy Nussbaum Associated Press Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A five-year legal battle over the adoption of twin girls who are part American Indian is finally over for a Columbus couple. "I think everyone was just tired and wanted to get on with their life," said Collette Rost, who along with her husband, Jim, signed adoption papers Monday for 5-year-old daughters Bridget and Lucy. Family and friends who joined the Rosts in court and applauded when they signed the papers, one day short of a year after the girls' birth family in California signed an agreement allowing the adoption. The case prompted debate on Capitol Hill about whether changes are needed in the federal law invoked by the birth parents to fight the adoption, the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act. The law was written to curb a rise in adoptions of Indian children by non-Indian parents, a trend that threatened the survival of some tribes. The girls, born before parents Richard and Cindy Adams were married, were put up for adoption and had been raised since they were 2 weeks old by the Rosts. However, the Adamses changed their minds before the adoption was final. The birth parents had not initially revealed their Indian ancestry. Richard Adams is three-16ths Pomo, a Northern California tribe. Cindy Adams is half Yaqui, a Southwestern tribe. After learning of the case, Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio, introduced an Indian adoption bill seeking to restrict tribal ability to intervene in adoption cases involving birth parents who have no "significant social, cultural or political ties" to a tribe. "Today's the culmination of many people's efforts on behalf of the Rost family. We're just overjoyed that it came to such a happy conclusion," Pryce said Monday. In working with the Rost family over the past four years or so, Pryce said she learned a lot about perseverance and "how to find resolve." Pryce is not currently working on changing the law but said she is watching how courts around the country apply it. The act has been interpreted in different ways by various state courts. Some courts have given tribes virtual veto power over adoptions of any children they claim as members. Mrs. Rost said she will continue to fight for new language in the law. "I don't believe it was meant to be used in the way it was used in our case," Mrs. Rost said. "It was put into play to keep white social workers from putting Native American children in non-Native American families." In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a California Court of Appeals ruling that overturned a decision that the adoption violated the federal law. The appeals court ordered the case returned to a trial-level state court to determine whether the birth parents had significant social, cultural or political affiliation with their tribes before the twins were born. The agreement was reached before the case proceeded. Under the agreement, the Rosts will bring the girls to California for visits every other year until age 18. "They are welcome to come out here and visit them as well," Mrs. Rost said. A message left for the Adamses was not returned. The Rosts, who have another daughter, Hannah, 11, incurred about $250,000 in legal bills. About $80,000 was donated for their cause by supporters and their attorney has reduced some fees, Mrs. Rost said. ------------------------------------------------------------