Facing the Issue of Foster Care from the CEO of Child Welfare League of America

This is a piece that Christine James Brown wrote for the Huffington Post:

Faced with Faces
Every once in a while I need grounding. Even though I deal every day with the issues facing children in foster care, I sometimes need to stand back -- away from the statistics and policy debates -- to see real children in need of real families. That's one of the reasons I appreciate November's National Adoption Month because it helps focus me on the faces of children in foster care.

Recently, after a long day at the office, I went searching -- my soul and the internet. I was having one of those moments when I needed to reboot. I ran across a segment on DC-based NBC4's Wednesday's Child -- the program that features foster children available for adoption during the news. It was a piece about a talented 14-year-old girl named Jennisfer who had big brown eyes and loves to draw and ride horses. Seeing her story reminded me of my own daughter when she was a child and how special our time together was.
Since I was already drawn in, I watched another segment about David, a cute young boy with Down syndrome who was having a fun-filled day at Gymboree. Both of these children are available for adoption from the foster care system. Despite their challenges it was clear that both children were lovable and in need of being loved. As I watched these two pieces, I choked up thinking again how lucky my own daughter was to have loving parents to share special moments with, help guide her decisions, and just give her a hug.

Still I needed to see more faces to drive home the importance of the work that we in the child welfare world. I logged onto a variety of adoption related sites, including AdoptUSKids.org. Gracing the front were teens Nickayla and Darrien of Kansas. These beautiful siblings with big smiles -- one loves to sing and the other enjoys sports -- desperately want to find a family and most importantly stay together.

Behind each of these faces and stories is a caring child welfare professional, working to ensure that children have a chance to be reunited with families or if this is not possible, have opportunities to get adopted. My hunt for faces and stories of children available for adoption also reminded me of all the outstanding work that child welfare workers do to ensure children get reunited with their birthparents and/or find new ones. These dedicated professionals work tirelessly to ensure a better life for children.

One such professional being honored this month as AdoptUSkids's Caseworker of the Month is Shanda Moorman, an adoption recruiter for Wendy's Wonderful Kids in Orlando who firmly believes that "every child is adoptable." And her work shows that. Due to her persistence and sensitivity, she recently was able to facilitate an interstate adoption of twins with significant medical conditions. Her excitement over seeing photos of the children laughing and happy with their new family showed the pride she takes in her work. Shanda is representative of so many outstanding child welfare professionals who view their profession as a calling.

Why is it important to put faces on this issue? That's because more than 110,000 children in the United States -- who have suffered from abuse and/or neglect -- have nowhere to go. They are wards of the state -- legally released from their families -- and waiting in the foster care system, hoping that a caring adult will come along and make the world right again for them. But 110,000 is just a number -- albeit a big one. Behind that number are real children who lives and futures have been upended and stolen from them by parents and situations that have let them down.

That's why my favorite day of National Adoption Month is National Adoption Day, when communities across the United States celebrate the making of new families. On this day, court systems nationwide help children heal and families come together by legally joining foster children with adoptive families. This ceremonial effort puts a face on the issue and symbolizes the importance of how strong families are the fundamental building blocks for communities.

If you have a few minutes this month, please take the time to search the Internet for the names and faces of children who want nothing more than to be loved. If you have room in your heart and home, consider adopting one. Just as importantly, take a moment to hug and care for your own children. Good parents are in demand... and they make a difference.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christine-jamesbrown/faced-with-faces_b_777293.html

How Your Church Can Help Foster Children

This is from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (which also offers free resources for your church or organization) -

The faith community and foster care adoption

CHILDREN ARE WAITING
Every day children are abused, abandoned and neglected. Through no faults of their own, many end up in foster care and eventually are made available for adoption. These children often move three or more times, are frequently separated from siblings, and can wait five years or more for an adoptive family. One in five will turn 18 and leave the system without a family. Today, more than 114,000 children wait in U.S. foster care for a loving, permanent family.


YOU CAN HELP

The faith community has long been one of the most dynamic, powerful resources to help children without families. The following are just some of the many ways to get involved in foster care adoption – because every child deserves a loving home and forever family.


SUPPORT ADOPTIVE FAMILIES

-Celebrate when members of your congregation make the choice to adopt. Recognize adoption as a valued way to build families.


-Establish support groups for adoptive parents. Learn how at www.nacac.org or http://www.adoptamericanetwork.org/.
 -Host activities and outings for adoptive families.


-Raise funds for medical and educational needs. Donate clothing or other necessities for a growing family. Offer respite childcare.


-Consider establishing an adoption ministry.


HOST OR JOIN A NATIONAL ADOPTION DAY EVENT

National Adoption Day is celebrated in communities across the United States on the Saturday before Thanksgiving (November 20, 2010). Host a National Adoption Day event of your own by inviting members of your congregation or parish to join you for a workshop, picnic, reception or other event in celebration of adoptive families and generate awareness of waiting children. To partner with a local foster care adoption agency, visit www.childwelfare.gov/nfcad. Be a part of the national effort and get a free banner by registering your event at http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/.


-Join an already scheduled event near you by visiting http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/.
There are events in communities all across the nation. Contact the event coordinator to volunteer your time or donate items for the newly-formed families.
 
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Facts & Figures on Foster Care Adoption from National Adoption Day

National Adoption Day provides some information on children in foster care, which can be found here:

- Every year, more than 123,000 children in foster care are available for adoption. Many spend more than
five years waiting for permanent, loving homes. Between 2000 and 2009, more than 30,000 children were
joined together with their forever families as part of National Adoption Day activities.

Who are these waiting children?

• There are an estimated 463,000 children in foster care in the United States, and more than 123,000 of them are waiting to be adopted.

• Through no fault of their own, these children enter foster care as a result of abuse, neglect and/or abandonment.

• The average child waits for an adoptive family for more than two years.

• 19 percent spend 5 years or more waiting for a family (24,300 children).

• The average age of children waiting for an adoptive family is 8.

What happens to them?

• 55,000 children are adopted from foster care.

• More than 29,000 children reach the age of 18 without ever finding a forever family.

Who adopts from foster care?

• Children in foster care are adopted by three types of families: former foster parents (59 percent), relatives (26 percent) and non-relatives (15 percent).

• Of the families who adopt children from foster care, 69 percent are married couples, 26 percent are single females, 3 percent are single males, and 2 percent are unmarried couples.

• A national survey in 2007 revealed that 48 million Americans have considered adoption from foster care – more so than any other form of adoption, including private adoption of an infant or international adoption. (National Foster Care Adoption Attitudes Survey, November 2007. Commissioned by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and conducted by Harris Interactive.)

To find out more about adopting a child in the United States, please visit
http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/  or call 1-800-ASK-DTFA.

(Unless otherwise indicated, statistics are provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children; Interim Estimates for FY 2008.)

National Adoption Day Events

National Adoption Day is November 20, 2010.  Find events happening in your area:
http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/events

National Adoption Day

On National Adoption Day, this year on November 21, communities in all 50 states will hold courtroom celebrations to finalize more than 4,000 adoptions of children from foster care. Hundreds of judges, attorneys, agencies, adoption professionals, and child advocates volunteer their time to complete the adoptions.

The National Adoption Day Coalition named Nia Vardalos as its 2009 National Adoption Day spokesperson. The writer and actress is an advocate for U.S. foster care adoption. She and her husband, Ian Gomez, adopted their daughter from foster care in 2008.
Read her story here: http://cgcministry.blogspot.com/2009/11/nia-vardalos-writes-about-adopting-from.html