To merge a group of cells and center the text, you can also use the Merge and Center button on the Excel tool bar. Again, this will only preserve the text in the upper-leftmost cell. Click the Merge and Center button on the toolbar.
The hospital should be notified of the adoption as far in advance of the birth mother's due date as possible. You should inform the hospital soon after you match with a birth mother. In an independent adoption, the birth mother's attorney usually makes initial contact with the hospital. In an agency adoption, communication is usually initiated by the social worker who has been guiding and counseling the birth mother.
The United States foster care system enables adults to care for minor children who are not able to live with their biological parents. In fiscal year 2000, 150,703 foster children were adopted in the United States, many by their foster parents or relatives of their biological parents. The enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act in 1997 has approximately doubled the number of children adopted from foster care in the United States.