Wild Love

In the child welfare system, kinship placement is the process of placing children who cannot stay with their original parents with close family members or friends rather than placing them in foster care with unrelated caretakers. This method prioritizes preserving cultural and familial ties, giving the child a sense of continuity and security during a time of change and uncertainty. Kinship placement is based on the idea that children do better socially, emotionally, and mentally when they stay with someone they know.

The laws surrounding parental rights and sperm donation vary from state to state; usually, a sperm donor is not recognized as a legal parent since they sign a contract before donation to terminate their rights. However, in Wild Love, Ford’s role as a sperm donor becomes complex when his biological daughter seeks him out. Unlike an anonymous donor, Ford’s involvement becomes personal when Cora asks him to help her and her mother. His role transcends the typical boundaries of sperm donation as he develops a relationship with Cora, the child conceived using his donated sperm, creating a situation that challenges the conventional understanding of donor roles. Ford becomes both physically and emotionally present for Cora as he agrees to a kinship placement to provide her with a stable living situation while Marilyn receives treatment.