Each year, November is recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month. This year’s theme is “answering the call– you do not have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. There are thousands of teens in foster care who would love to put up with you.”According to Adoption.com more than 100,000 children in the United States are in foster care waiting to go home to permanent families. The purpose of this month is to focus primarily on the adoption of children currently in foster care.
Throughout this month different people from all over the country celebrate adoption as a positive way to create families. There are many dinners, public awareness events, and recruitment campaigns, as well as different special events to highlight the need for permanent homes for children.
The adoption month began by a Massachusetts former governor, Mike Dukakis. He started Adoption Week to promote awareness of the need for adoptive families for children in Massachusetts. After President Gerald Ford made the first National Adoption Week, in 1990 the week was later expanded to a month. This expansion was due to the number of events happening in the numerous states participating.
Saturday Nov. 15 is National Adoption Day. The purpose of this day is to finalize adoption in all 50 states and including Puerto Rico and District of Columbia. It is a day to celebrate and honor all families that adopt children. The day is aimed to raise awareness of 129,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted.
Although there are many national level celebrations such as the Presidential Proclamation, activities by those people who have direct connections to adoption is the most effective way to promote adoption.
It is important for people most closely connected to adoption to help by promoting positive perceptions, to identify the myths, and to alert others about the children currently in foster care waiting for permanent homes.
There are many different ways people can participate in Adoption Awareness Month. Promoting awareness on adoption can be done through events, campaigns, celebrations and simple activities. Every opportunity is a great chance to educate ourselves and others about adoption issues. Even the smallest thing makes a difference. Celebrate your family, for instance, have a cookout and watch family videos. Volunteer to help out at adoption events in the area or work at Pennsylvania’s next recruitment fair. Try dropping off information regarding adoption in public places in your community.
There are many different types of adoption people can participate in. The two most basic kinds of adoption are agency adoptions and independent adoptions. Some of the different subcategories of adoption options include: fost-adopt, infant/newborn, international, waiting child adoption, and semi-open adoption to step child adoption, and older child adoption. Some other kinds include relative adoption, closed adoption, foster child adoption, special needs, military and overseas adoption, adopting an adult and child Adoptions.
If you’re interested in learning more about adoption or know someone that is, please visit http://photolisting.adoption.com. It is the Internet’s largest one-source listing of waiting children.
Jackie Aliotta is a fourth-year student majoring in communications with minors in business, technical writing and Spanish. She can be reached at AJ609350@wcupa.edu.