Foster care can provide new opportunities and a safe place for children with a rough family situation. However, foster care does not provide a forever home for the children involved in the program. Adoption from foster care gives children who have been passed from family to family a home where they can grow and be loved. DeKalb County has been making an event for National Adoption Day, encouraging adoptionespecially for older children.
Monday, November 25th, is National Adoption Day in the United States. DeKalb County hosted a celebration showing their support of adoption. They particularly focused on raising awareness for the adoption of older children. In Georgia alone, there are almost 1,600 children waiting to be adopted, and a large number of these children are 9 years or older.
In this particular Georgia county’s celebration, 20 children were adopted. One of these children had previously lived in five different foster homes before finally being adopted by his last foster mom. This event has slowly begun to see a rise in the adoption of older kids, giving them a new lease on life and a chance to be a part of a family for good. The adoption of a child not only changes their life, but can provide new meaning to the lives of the adoptive parents.
Events like this provide an amazing opportunity to raise awareness about the need for adoption. Children who constantly move between foster homes do not get to truly become part of the family, but adoption gives them that chance. Going through the adoption process can require some patience, but with some understanding, a child can have a new home and their very own family for the first time.
Source: CBS Atlanta News, DeKalb celebrates adoptions; encourages older child adoption, Jeff Chirico, Nov. 25, 2013
