Children's Division urges adoption of children waiting in foster care

All children deserve a loving, permanent home, which is the motivation behind Children's Division joining the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month in a local campaign to encourage members and families throughout the 28th Circuit to open their hearts and homes to foster care children who are waiting for forever families.

Today, more than 129,000 children in the U.S. foster care system are available for adoption. That figure includes 10 children in the 28th Circuit who are growing up without a permanent family of their own. They entered foster care through no fault of their own, as victims of child abuse, neglect or abandonment and their parent's legal rights have been terminated.

Each year, more children enter the system than are adopted. The typical child who has been freed for adoption is at least 9 years old, moves three or more times in foster care, may have been separated from siblings, and will wait five years or more to be adopted. Tragically, more than 26,000 will never be adopted and leave they system at age 18 without a family, going into society without the support of a family.

National Adoption Awareness Month, celebrated annually since 1990, works to increase the number of families willing to consider foster care adoption and celebrates the unique joys of creating families through foster care adoption.

"Every child deserves a family," said Rita Soronen, executive director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. "There is a critical need for Americans to become aware and involved. Everyone makes a difference -- either by adopting a child from foster care of by supporting the work of agencies finding forever families for children."

For more information about adopting a waiting child in the Circuit, call Vernon County Children's Division at (417) 448-1100 or order the free booklet A Child is Waiting: A Begin-ner's Guide to Adoption by visiting www.DaveThom-asFoundationForAdoption.org or calling 800-ASK-DTFA.