Kids for Adoption

At any given time, there are thousands of kids for adoption in the United States. Join that with the thousands of kids for adoption globally, and the numbers are often staggering. It is heartbreaking when these numbers are revealed, but also intriguing as to what to do about this situation and why it is occuring. While domestic infant adoption is incredibly popular, kids for adoption through foster care and internationally may find themselves in those systems for years or for their entire childhood. It is important to examine why children might enter care both locally and globally and understand how we can assist these kids for adoption in tangible ways.

There are many reasons through which children might enter foster care or be placed for adoption. When examining domestic adoption, the adoptive process where a birth mother places her child for adoption in the United States, children enter adoption by way of their birth family. A birth mother or birth parents may place their child for adoption for many reasons. These reasons can vary from not feeling ready to parent, not being financially prepared, addiction, assault, or various other personal reasons. In most of these cases, children are not placed at all due to a lack of love or hope for their child. These children are often placed with adoptive families because their birth parents see adoption as the route to provide for them more opportunity and a brighter future.

When a child enters the foster care system, the reasons can also be varying. For many of these children, they are placed in care because they were forcibly removed from their parent or guardian’s home due to an unsafe situation. These situations can include abuse, neglect, dangerous environments or incidents, or sometimes the death of the child’s parents. While every attempt will be made to place these children with other family members, that is not always an option. For many of these children, the situation may never become safe enough for the child to return home. In this case, children are deemed legally free to adopt. Once this occurs, these children may be adopted from foster care. Some are adopted by their foster parents, some are adopted by those seeking foster care adoption, and some will remain in the foster care system until they age out.

[dfp_ads id=46] Regardless of the reasoning that children are placed for adoption, the fact remains that the need for children to be adopted by loving parents will likely always be present and often dire. Adoption has many myths that surround it that prevent people from even thinking twice about kids for adoption. Some of these myths include that adoption is too expensive or the only rich people adopt. However, there are thousands of kids for adoption through the foster care system. Many people do not understand that these children can be adopted at little to no cost to the hopeful adoptive parent. Another myth that people often have is that kids who are adopted are somehow “troubled” or even “damaged.” While there is loss with any adoption, these children are not “damaged.” They have gone through a lot and have been separated permanently from their families. These children need loving home, permanence, and stability more than most.

There are many ways in which each individual can help support kids for adoption. Even if you are not in a position to adopt, there are still ways in which you can help these children. If you are not ready for the premanance of adoption, foster parents are usually always a dire need in almost every community. Being able to care for kids temporarily, providing them a safe and loving environment, makes a world of difference for each child. If you think foster care might be something you would be interested in exploring, you can read more about that at this link. If being a foster parent is still too large of a commitment, there is always a need for respite care providers who are essentially child care providers for foster children for very short periods of time. This is often sometimes only for a night to a few days while foster parents take some time away or have to tend to other matters out of town. It is a great way to get involved when you do not feel you can fully commit to traditional foster care.

There are many ways to find out what kids are available for adoption in your area. Many states have photolistings of children within the foster care system who are available for adoption. These photolistings typically include a photo of the child and brief description of his or her characteristics. These profiles may also include hobbies of the child as well as the hopes the child has for his future family. Also, often included in this profile is some preferences the child placing agency may feel are necessary for the child, such as being the youngest child in the household or that the child would do better in a two-parent home. These profiles may also be available at your local child placing agency. You can call your local child placing agencies to see if they have profiles available and how to view them.
You can also view kids for adoption by way of Adoption.com. Here, you can view a comprehensive photolisting of kids for adoption. You can also filter your search by various categories such as state, gender, and age. The photolistings will also provide information for you to contact the agency with which the child is placed in order to gather more information or express interest in adopting the child. Even if you are not yet at the point of considering a child for adoption, take some time to view these photolistings. This will give you a better idea of the need for adoptive parents as well as the wonderful children who are seeking forever homes. Sharing these photolistings may also be one of the ways you can be an adoption advocate and help find a child a forever home.

Are you and your partner ready to start the adoption process? Visit Adoption.org or call 1-800-ADOPT-98 to begin your adoption journey. We have 130+ years of adoption experience and would love to help you.