November is National Adoption Month
Oct 24, 2016 12:43PM ● By Today's Family
November is known as “National Adoption Month.” The history of designating a month to celebrate and bring awareness to adoption began in Massachusetts in 1976. Then governor of Massachusetts, Mike Dukakis, designated an “adoption week” to recognize children in need of permanent homes. This single idea, sparked national interest and spread throughout the country. President Gerald Ford later instituted the first National Adoption Week. In 1990, “adoption week” changed to “adoption month” due to the interest the topic generated throughout the country. Both children and parents alike have benefited from this interest as it is what has and continues to bring families together.
Children services agencies throughout the nation take a moment to recognize and promote November as National Adoption Month because not only are foster parents needed to help care for children, so are adoptive parents. Sometimes children are unable to return to their birth family and it is the adoptive parents that agencies turn to when children are in need of “forever families.”
What is adoption? Legally, adoption is accepting a child into your family that was not born to the parents. Once the adoption is legalized, the child will have the adoptive parent’s name and the same legal rights as a child by birth. To a child, adoption means so much more. It means having somebody there at all times to meet their needs, to help them through both good and bad times and to share their lifetime experiences.
Children of all ages, genders and races are in need of adoption. Any child who has entered into the public child welfare system has experienced a trauma, either through abuse or neglect and due to this trauma they have been affected either physically or emotionally. Their behaviors can be demanding and challenging but with commitment, consistency and time, families are growing.
Once a county is awarded permanent custody of a child, it becomes the county’s responsibility to find that child a permanent home. Lake County found a permanent home for 14 children in 2015. Currently, Lake County Department of Job and Family Services has two children in permanent custody and one who needs a forever family.
For those families who have adopted, please look throughout your local community and online resources to see all the different ways adoption is being celebrated and how you can become a part of that celebration. The Lake County Department of Job and Family Services is grateful to all of the families who have adopted children in the past and thank you for helping these children find their forever families.
If you are interested in becoming a foster and/or adoptive parent, please call the Foster Care/Adoption Inquiry Line, Lake County Department of Job and Family Services at (440) 350-4218 or email [email protected]. They will be happy to answer your questions and send you information about foster care and adoption. The Lake County Department of Job and Family Services is in need of families who would be willing to care for teenagers. Tell them you learned about foster parenting in Today's Family.
Children services agencies throughout the nation take a moment to recognize and promote November as National Adoption Month because not only are foster parents needed to help care for children, so are adoptive parents. Sometimes children are unable to return to their birth family and it is the adoptive parents that agencies turn to when children are in need of “forever families.”
What is adoption? Legally, adoption is accepting a child into your family that was not born to the parents. Once the adoption is legalized, the child will have the adoptive parent’s name and the same legal rights as a child by birth. To a child, adoption means so much more. It means having somebody there at all times to meet their needs, to help them through both good and bad times and to share their lifetime experiences.
Children of all ages, genders and races are in need of adoption. Any child who has entered into the public child welfare system has experienced a trauma, either through abuse or neglect and due to this trauma they have been affected either physically or emotionally. Their behaviors can be demanding and challenging but with commitment, consistency and time, families are growing.
Once a county is awarded permanent custody of a child, it becomes the county’s responsibility to find that child a permanent home. Lake County found a permanent home for 14 children in 2015. Currently, Lake County Department of Job and Family Services has two children in permanent custody and one who needs a forever family.
For those families who have adopted, please look throughout your local community and online resources to see all the different ways adoption is being celebrated and how you can become a part of that celebration. The Lake County Department of Job and Family Services is grateful to all of the families who have adopted children in the past and thank you for helping these children find their forever families.
If you are interested in becoming a foster and/or adoptive parent, please call the Foster Care/Adoption Inquiry Line, Lake County Department of Job and Family Services at (440) 350-4218 or email [email protected]. They will be happy to answer your questions and send you information about foster care and adoption. The Lake County Department of Job and Family Services is in need of families who would be willing to care for teenagers. Tell them you learned about foster parenting in Today's Family.