Hello,

My name is Charla and I'm setting up a GoFundMe on behalf of Riley, the birth father from our adoption story. My goal is to share our journeys, why this GoFundMe is being set up and how there is a huge concern in the state of Minnesota for birth fathers under the Safe Place for Newborns Law.

Riley is still fighting the Minnesota courts to grant him a paternity test. This test would confirm that this child born in June 2024 is his and would finally be reunited if that were the case, something he's been fighting for since prior to when she was born.

Please note, I'm keeping all anonymity, with the exception of the first name of the birth father, due to the legal proceedings still taking place.

So how could this ever happen, how could we get here? Let's take you back to May 2024 where this story really begins.

** ADOPTION JOURNEY **

After being on the waiting list for almost 2 years with our adoption agency on May 3, 2024, we received the life-changing call we’d been eagerly awaiting. Our social worker informed us that a birth mother had selected us to be the adoptive parents to a baby girl that was going to be born late June/early July. After trying for 8 years, taking 1.5 years to process the grief of not being able to carry our own child, and then waiting nearly 2 years to adopt, we said yes excitedly and without hesitation. Our prayers were answered, and there were so many little moments that felt like she was meant to be ours. Our gender-neutral nursery immediately turned pink and purple and became filled with bows and dresses.

In the beginning of June we found out that the birth father had registered on the MFAR back in March (of 2024). The MFAR is what I describe as a safety net for men to have a choice in the decision on regarding their alleged child(ren), whether it's choosing to raise them, be part of the adoption process or ultimately deny paternity rights. I say alleged as they will need to do a paternity test to confirm if the child is theirs. We knew that if the birth father wanted to raise her, we knew the right thing to do was to keep them together and we would not fight him on the adoption or make it difficult. On June 17th Riley was served letting him know that there was an adoption proceeding taking place. The adoption agency and attorneys rang him on June 19th to talk through his intentions for registering on the MFAR and he stated this baby girl was intentionally conceived, she was wanted and he did not want to place her for adoption. He wanted to raise her and did not want to place her for adoption.

At the end of June the birthmother had the baby at a hospital and informed everyone she had decided to place the baby girl as a 'Safe Place for Newborns' (AKA Safe Haven). I had the opportunity to speak to the birthmother for the first time via text. Our adoption agency informed us at this point they would no longer be working with her as she decided she no longer was pursing adoption. I felt alone but knew I needed to advocate for this baby. My main priority was ensuring the baby was healthy but ultimately I was avoiding this baby going into foster care, because being a Safe Place for Newborns baby this is what this would lead to. I begged (literally) for the birthmother not to do this approach, I provided a few other options but she was clear she had made her decision. She did tell me that a Health Unit Coordinator (HUC) informed her we (or our attorney) could call the hospital and ask if a 'Safe Place for Newborns' baby was left there and we could emergency foster her, this would allow us to adopt her (basically finding a loop hole in the system). Knowing what we knew about the Riley stepping forward and registering, this was something we could not even consider, ethically or morally. We asked our attorney to talk with Riley to confirm his intents still were to raise her, which was the case. Within 48 hours of her being born, June 28th, 2024, we ended our communication with the birthmother, pulled our adoption petition and started to process the grief of losing what we thought was our daughter.

We found out on July 12th, that the judge had signed us withdrawing our adoption petition on July 10th and we also found out that Riley had followed through with filing his paperwork and submitting a

I was told by our adoption agency, the attorneys, and some family to walk away from the situation and not to reach out to them again. In August, I had this strong urge to reach out to the Riley, but wasn't sure what I would say...but it kept weighing on me. I let him know who I was, congratulated him on becoming a dad and shared that I was not upset or angry with his decision but respected him even more. We talked for awhile and through our conversations I learned he did not have his baby girl however he had a court date later in the month to request his paternity test. The court date came and went and I reached out to ask how it went...I mean it's basically a yes or no answer. His response shocked me, he stated they didn't know where the baby was!!! How can that happen. At this point, I knew I had a lot of information about the baby from my previous conversation with the birthmother, so I shared that with the Riley. This allowed him to find her in 2 DAYS!!

Days later he shared he found out, she was in the process of being adopted out by the foster family. You see, state statue for children left at Safe Place for Newborn states 2 days after they are dropped, all parental rights are waved and the child can be placed for adoption without notifying anyone. I explained to the Riley that MN state law states Safe Place for Newborn babies can't be born in a hospital and left in a hospital, this was something my attorneys shared with me and something I tried to explain to the birthmother. I told his attorneys to look into it.

In mid-September, I connected with the Riley and he shared that they struggled to find the birth records and the county is saying that the baby wasn't born at the hospital making the Safe Place for Newborns law was not applicable. This also is not true, and my communication with the birthmother proved this based on the type of birth. I also shared I knew that the hospital was holding filing the babies birth records for 5 additional days after she was being born, this was stated to me.

In October of 2024 I wrote a letter to the courts sharing who I was, my experience in the case and how heavy my heart is for EVERYONE involved. The child, Riley, the foster parents and the judge - unfortunately that did not help.

In November they went back to court for the CHIPS case and was informed they need to go to a paternity. hearing, which was scheduled for February 2025.

In February 2025 they went to court to request a paternity test and found out on March 10th that a Paternity test was denied again. To hear from parties that it is 'not in the best interest of the child for a paternity test' is something that is absolutely reckless. Any child that is not biological to the parents who raised them should always know their background if possible, whether it's to know where they came from or from a health stand point.

In May of 2025 Riley's attorney filed an appeals and is taking this all the way, that is why this GoFundMe has been setup. He has spent tens of thousands of dollars already and I know that the costs of attorneys for an appeal like this isn't going to be cheap, especially for the timeframe that they're looking at.

The holiday's have passed: 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, Easter and now we have passed this child's first birthday and this (alleged) father has not been there for any of them. He has not seen her say her first words, crawl, make her first steps, smile and he's missing out because the justice system has let him down!

This baby girl was my daughter and I loved her dearly - I was her mama for a month and a half before we found out the intentions of Riley. I loved her so much that that I knew that it was best for them to be together. I do not have anything to gain from this situation but my heart has been led to help this man be united with his daughter once a paternity test has been completed and it proves he's the biological father. I am confident that I made the right decision with the amount of drive he has to continue this fight for his rights. The more I've learned how much he's done and followed to ensure that his rights were protected, the more I know that he loves her dearly. I, personally, know the importance of a father-daughter relationship, I can't imagine my life without my dad in mine.

I also want to place a heavy emphasis that within fostering and children within the system, children are always looked at being reunified with parents first and then placed with family who step forward.

We are asking for support for Riley. This is something that he has been hesitant to do for the last year but as attorney fees start to add up and with a lot of conversations over the last few months, he felt it was time to lean on others.

If giving monetarily is something you can't do - we are asking you to share this story. More people need to know what's going on. How unjust this has been and we are also just as importantly asking for prayers. That God intervenes in this situation.

Thank you,

Charla

** Please note, that any money above the goal amount (attorney fees paid) will be put in a savings account for this child to set her up for her future success.