This post is presented in partnership with Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY), a national non-profit providing child placement and community-based behavioral health services. CMC is happy to help spread the word about their important mission.
November is National Adoption Month. And just like every family is unique, each adoption story is beautiful in its own special way. What can be better than ensuring a child has the love, permanency, safety and security of a forever family?
There are many ways families can explore adoptions. But this November, we’re featuring National Adoption Month to raise awareness about the specific need to find forever homes for children in foster care eligible for adoption.
Nationwide, there are more than 123,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted from foster care. One in five of these are teens who are at risk of aging out of foster care with no permanent family to care for them (ChildWelfare.gov).
Children enter foster care through no fault of their own, but as unintended victims of the opioid epidemic, parental incarceration, mental illness and more. Many times, children in foster care are able to return to their birth families. When that is not an option, however, an adoptive family is needed to provide the love and security of a forever family.
At SAFY, we call our foster and adoptive families Agents of Hope, because they bring the hope, healing, love and support needed to secure a child’s future.
While adopting from foster care is like traditional adoption in many ways, there are a few reasons why it is unique and why families wanting to pursue adopting should consider adopting children from foster care.
Fostering before Adopting – While the child welfare community sees foster care and adoption as a single, continuous journey, many adoption relationships start out with a child in a home through foster care. This is beneficial to both the child and the family to allow for strong, stable bonds to form before going down the process of adoption.
Older Youth and Sibling Groups – Some families looking to adopt feel led to open their home to older youth and/or sibling groups. These children have the most need for permanent homes. As older youth risk aging out of the foster care system, this represents a tremendous opportunity for families to make a huge difference in the life of a youth, ensuring they have the support, guidance and life skills needed to be successful in the future.
Pre- and Post-Adoption Support – The reality is most children in foster care have suffered some level of trauma. These kids have been through a lot. But as an agency coordinating adoptions from foster care, SAFY provides families with training and support to understand the effects of trauma, help children heal and build a stable foundation for the entire family.
Youth in foster care who are eligible for adoption need what all kids deserve – a loving, safe and permanent family who will be there through all life’s milestones.
To learn more about becoming a foster or adoptive parent, visit www.SAFY.org.
Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY) is a child and family nonprofit preserving families and securing futures through foster care, adoptions and other services. In honor of National Adoption Month, SAFY shares information about the need for forever homes for kids in foster care eligible for adoption.
