November is National Adoption Month. This annual celebration commemorates the priceless gift of adoption – and it highlights the need for adoptive parents in our community.
Some parents choose to adopt children from foreign countries and far-off continents. However, many local children, teens, and sibling groups in foster care wish for a forever family to care for them.
Foster kids enter the child welfare system through no fault of their own, but because they have experienced trauma. They are reunited with their birth families whenever safely possible. But if reunification proves impossible, the court system terminates their biological parents’ rights, making the youth available for adoption.
Adoptive parents give love, family, and home to the kids who need them most. Many parents consider adoption a calling that springs from their spiritual convictions and innermost values. They often say adoption is a blessing for them as much as for the children. While adding new members to a family has its challenges, adoption also brings great joy.
There are many common myths about adoption, but the primary requirement is a safe, stable, and loving home. Adoptive parents may be married or single, be a same-sex couple, have children or have never parented before, be in their 60s or 20s, and have modest means or significant wealth. People who can care for a child, meet their needs, and make a lifelong commitment can most likely adopt.
For community members who have ever thought about adopting, National Adoption Month presents the perfect opportunity to reach out, learn more, and begin the adoption journey. Visit KidsCentralInc.org today for more information about how to become an adoptive parent – and give a child or siblings a second chance at a forever family.
Kids Central is the nonprofit lead agency that cares for abused, neglected, and abandoned children in Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and Sumter Counties.
