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State to Revoke License of Adoption Agency

An adoption agency in American Fork has been put on notice that the state plans to revoke its license. In September last year, the Office of Licensing for the Utah Department of Human Services told The Adoption Center of Choice to correct various operating problems. An extensive list of violations includes missing documentation, failure to account for expenditures made on behalf of birth mothers, and failure to conduct home studies before placement of babies.

During a probationary period ending this month, the adoption agency was supposed to correct these violations and stop accepting new clients. But Elizabeth Sollis, spokersperson for the Department of Human Services told KUER the adoption center has accepted new birth mothers and adoptive parents during the probationary period, and it has not demonstrated compliance with all its requirements.

The Adoption Center of Choice has until February 20th to appeal the revocation notice, if it chooses to. A lawyer who has represented the agency declined to comment. The center has been given seven corrective action notices since 2004. It came into the spotlight in 2012 after a birth father, Terry Achane, successfully sued to have his daughter returned to him.

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Andrea Smardon is new at KUER, but she has worked in public broadcasting for more than a decade. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and news announcer for WGBH radio. While in Boston, she produced stories for Morning Edition, Marketplace Money, and The World. Her print work was published in The Boston Globe and Boston.com. Prior to that, she worked at Seattleââ
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