November is Adoption Awareness Month.
The Highland Shores Children’s Aid Society has issues the following statement:
“Adoption Awareness Month takes place in November and is an opportunity for children’s aid societies to raise awareness about the role that everyone can play in helping young people achieve permanency through adoption. Every child needs permanency and life-long connections.
Every child deserves to be with their family of origin. Children living with their own families, in their own culture and in their home communities is a priority. However, for some children and youth, living with their kin is not always possible.
When it is not, the child deserves a family that is a good fit for them.
The number of children and youth in society care and available to be adopted has steadily decreased over the last several years as the primary goal of children’s aid societies is focused on supporting children to live safely in their own homes.
Adoption is one of several permanency options that children’s aid societies consider when looking for life-long connections for children in care. Placing children with extended family members (Kinship, Customary Care), an alternate caregiver through legal custody, and adoption are all options that are considered.
The right match for children and youth requires finding adoptive parents who share the diverse cultural and religious backgrounds of our children and youth. We are also committed to finding families that have the strengths and skills to support children who may have siblings, complex needs, or open adoption relationships with their family of origin. It continues to be challenging to find families who are ready and able to meet the needs of older children, large sibling groups, or those with complex medical, developmental, and behavioral needs.
“We believe that every child is adoptable however the search for the right match for a child can take time,” says Heather Owens, Adoption Supervisor, with Highland Shores Children’s Aid.
“Our goal is to find the right families for children and youth and making those connections as quickly as possible. Fewer children are coming into our care in the first place, and for those who cannot return home to their family of origin, we are able to find permanent life-long connections out of foster care for these children and youth to prosper”, says Owens.
The development of life-long connections and supports for children and youth through stable, permanent homes wherever possible in family-based placements is the primary goal.
“The benefits of maintaining lasting family connections with individuals whom the child has connections to are numerous and all young people, including those in care, deserve those benefits,” says Owens.
If you are interested in learning if adoption is right for you, please visit the Central Adoption Intake Service via the Adoption Council of Ontario website, www.adoption.on.ca.
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