Who's a Good Parent?

"We love Alice Marie," pleaded Richard Combs, 25, a husky sheet-metal worker of Old Bridge, N.J. But the plea was not enough for New Jersey's Board of Child Welfare. Last week, in the state's second highest court, the board moved to deny Gloria and Dick Combs's dearest desire--to adopt their foster child, a gay, elfin four-year-old. The board's reason: Alice Marie, according to social workers, is too bright to remain in the Combses' "television-centered" household.

An abandoned child,Alice Marie has lived with the Combses since the age of ten months. Though the Combses agreed not to attempt adopting her, they found the quick, eager girl hard to resist. At two, she recited nursery rhymes. At 2 1/2 she was put to an IQ test, won a mark of 138--in the "very superior," top 2% of the nation. "An endearing and charming youngster," reported the examining psychologist. He prescribed immediate adoption by a family with "a wealthy educational environment."

"TV Morons." Would the Combs home measure up? A spotless $17,000 ranch house, it is filled with toys and African violets; the yard has swings, a slide, a sandbox. On his $119-a-week salary, Dick Combs hoped some day to send both Alice Marie and his own two younger daughters to college. Nor was there any question of Alice Marie's affection for her foster parents. Often she woke in the night, crying: "Mommy, are you still here?" But the social workers were unsatisfied, lined up what they considered more suitable parents, a childless couple with 1) more money and 2) more "culture." The Combses, said one official report, "appear to have little cultural interests, and the majority of their leisure time is spent watching television. There are few books, if any, around the home."

"The state practically classifies us as TV morons," countered Dick Combs angrily. "We watch it maybe two hours a night, three or four times a week." His favorites: Gunsmoke, Paladin, sports events ("Am I supposed to be ashamed of that?"). Said Gloria Combs proudly: "I was valedictorian of my graduating class at Middlesex County Vocational Technical High School, and I was on the honor roll straight through." The Combses promptly put up a book shelf in the living room, stocked it with an encyclopedia, books on child care, and such eclectic volumes as International Atomic Policy and How We Drafted Adlai Stevenson. They have read few of the books, Dick Combs conceded. "But it was the only front we put on. If the state doesn't like the way we live, that's too bad. We'll go on fighting for Alice Marie because we love her and she loves us. Is there a better reason?"

"Bureaucratic Stupidity." Last week, when the Combses' lawyer appealed the case in court, he could cite no better reason. The court was not even sure that it should review the case. All legal precedent was on the side of the child-welfare board, which has sweeping power over adoptions in New Jersey.

To interested onlookers, the edict that Alice Marie is too "bright" to remain with loving parents seemed the height of official folly. Many psychologists noted that IQ is a matter of environment as well as heredity, i.e., the Combses themselves may be largely responsible for Alice Marie's high score. And what about the effect on the child of taking her from people. who sincerely want her? Wired a Connecticut psychiatrist to the Combses: I ENDORSE YOUR STAND AGAINST BUREAUCRATIC STUPIDITY 100%. Wrote a New York City physician, citing his own illiterate parents: "Whatever parents may lack in economic comfort and culture may be compensated by their love and devotion."

At week's end, stung by the outcry, some board members pondered reconsideration of the Combses' adoption plea. Snorted the Combs family's Baptist pastor, the Rev. Edgar Bunche: "The whole thing is outrageous. They couldn't find a better home for that child if they looked from now to doomsday."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.