I am one of seven siblings. When my littlest brother started attending school our family became a foster home for newborn babies. Throughout my childhood, we had thirty-two foster babies, one three-year-old and a teenage girl living with us. My mother, God bless her soul, was a foster parent for thirty-four children.
We would get the babies as newborns and keep them for one or two months until the day they were placed in their permanent home by the adoption services. Our family would give the babies a temporary name based on the nearest holiday the baby came under our roof. Pumpkin came on Halloween, Noel arrived just before Christmas, and one-day-old George showed up on President's Day. It was always a bittersweet day when my mother, the foster parent, would hand the baby over to the adoptive parent.
One day social services brought us a little boy on Cinco de Mayo. His temporary name became Pancho. He cried all the time because of a congenital hernia. Pancho could only be comforted by being held and walked. For nearly two months, my brothers and I walked with that baby every waking hour from one end of the house to the other. When Pancho had gained enough weight, he had surgery to repair the hernia and was taken directly from the hospital by his adoptive parents to his permanent home.
There are approximately 400,000 children in foster care in the United States. About one-third of those are waiting for adoption. For a foster child and the foster parents finding a permanent home is the ultimate goal.
How hard is it to adopt a baby from foster care?
For adoptive families, foster care adoption may be the easiest choice. Much of the research and background on the child is already in the system. The child is in a situation that is no fault of their own. For a variety of reasons, they have been placed into the foster care system by child welfare.
Many times the children waiting for adoption in the foster care system are older. However, the fastest-growing age group over the last several years is ages 1-4.
Each adoption from foster care is unique. The variables include everything from age, race, special needs, medical conditions, and whether the child has brothers and sisters. In a perfect world, siblings are adopted out of foster care together.
A few years ago, I was coaching a teenage softball team in a church league when my brother pointed to a young man on the opposing team swinging a bat in the on-deck circle. He was a tall kid with broad shoulders and a thick barrel chest. His legs were long and lean and twisted gracefully with each practice swing.
"That's Pancho," my brother said. It was nice to see that little crying baby had grown up to be so big and strong.
Frequently asked questions.
How many newborns are in foster care? According to the Annie E Casey Foundation, 7% of children in foster care are under 1 year of age. The percentage of children under 1 in various states includes: California 7%, Colorado 9%, Georgia 5%, Indiana 7%, Kentucky 6, Oklahoma 10%, South Carolina 5%, and Texas 9%.
How long does it take to adopt a child from foster care? Depending on what state you live in it could take anywhere from 9 to 18 months.
What is foster care adoption photolisting? Photolisting services provide pictures and brief descriptions of the children in the State's foster care system who are available for adoption and waiting for families.
What are post-adoption services? There are numerous services available after adoption for the parents and the child. As the adoptive child grows older the need for services may change over the years.
How to adopt a child? Foster care adoption near me? If you are thinking about adoption, a good place to start is by visiting the "Anchored In Hope" webpage on the Nightlight Christian Adoptions webiste.
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