KCSL Adoption Booklet

Reen Berges
Shawndra Harbaugh’s father
My father, Reen, was adopted in the early part
of 1949 around the age of six months. He
never knew any different. He was adopted and
didn’t really spend a lot of time thinking about it
or asking questions. He said he can remember
as early as age four or five knowing that he
was adopted, and that he had no desire to look
for his biological family because he knew who
his parents were -- his adopted mom and dad.
He said that he had great parents and never
questioned their commitment to him as their
adopted son. When Mike and I told him that
we were going through KCSL to adopt an infant
in 2009, he shared that he also was adopted
through the same agency.
On April 25, 2008, the League dedicated the Bette and
Mark Morris Center for Children and Families in Topeka.
Janelle Dubree
Advocates for adoption through fostering
e started our adoption story in
2002 with KCSL. Since then, we
have adopted 13 children, six of them
through KCSL. We originally looked to add
to our family through adoption because I
believed that although we had previously
given birth to our oldest son Dustin, in my
first marriage that I was unable to conceive
again. However, after starting the adoption
process, I became pregnant with our daughter
Cydnee, and when she was a year old,
Hershel was placed with our family. Later,
we saw the need for homes for children available
for adoption and made the decision to
continue to add to our family. I specifically
felt that we were meant to adopt sibling
groups that might otherwise be split up. We,
along with our birth children, have learned
compassion and how to handle various situations
and personalities. We get enjoyment
from watching all of our children’s faces in
their ‘FIRSTS’; rodeo, play, birthday celebrations,
going skating/bowling, participation in
sports/orchestra/band, cruise, vacation, zoo
outing...the list goes on. As a mother, I have
learned not to take my children’s negative
behaviors personally and by no means is it a
reflection on me as a parent. I have learned
not to expect an overnight healing as it may,
and does, take years for our children to heal.
We have always
been open about
adopting mainly
through the foster
care system and
are quite vocal
to others about
adoption. We
try to advocate
to others the
need for adoptive
homes and give information to those interested
in adopting. We decided to have open
adoptions with some of our children’s birth
families, when available, and some are quite
active in our lives.
Dubree children on a Disney Dream Cruise Vacation.
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