'My worst nightmare' | Bay Area county's foster kids not allowed to be adopted until vaxxed

The Silva family of Modesto, California has six older children and 11 grandchildren. However, in 2020, a relative reached out to Rachal and her husband about fostering three young kids from Livermore, California.

Before finding the Silvas, the three young children experienced homelessness, an environment with drug addiction, and a lack of stability. Now, the Silva family has been raising the kids full time for a year and a half, taking on the multistep adoption process. The Silvas even sold their house to buy a new one so all the younger kids could have their own bedrooms, took all the required classes and training, and had all the adults in their house get fingerprinted through the DMV.

On February 3, 2022, it looked like the long adoption process was finally complete, until an Alameda County social worker threw them a last-minute surprise: the Bay Area county is requiring young kids to receive one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine before they can be adopted forever.

Alameda's County Social Services Agency responded to my public records request with documentation of its policies. According to the adoptive placement agreement which all adoptive parents must sign,“until the adoption is final: I/We agree to place the child under the
care of a licensed physician and to follow recommendations for health care for the child, including immunization.”

As of March, the county confirmed in writing to me that the policy remains the same.

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ABOUT ALLISON: I'm a former San Diego TV news reporter and a recent independent journalist, passionate about independently looking into stories that matter for families. Learn more about me here: https://givesendgo.com/allisonroyal

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