Alabama celebrated a milestone in 2009, finalizing 676 adoptions, more than it has ever had before. To help make 2010 another record year, the state is calling upon residents to consider expanding their families through adoption:

"Department of Human Resources Commissioner Nancy Buckner said that creates not only a need for more families willing to adopt, but more families willing to provide foster care for children.

There are 650 children in foster care who are waiting for their adoptions to be finalized, and there are more than 250 children waiting for someone to step forward and say that they will adopt a child." [Source: Montgomery Advertiser]

Labels: alabama, encouragement

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with The Advertising Council and AdoptUsKids to launch a new adoption media campaign. The campaign's goal is to raise awareness about the thousands of teenagers currently in foster care that are available for adoption.

"This new multimedia campaign, created pro bono by Kirshenbaum bond & partners, is designed to communicate to prospective parents that 'You don't 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.' The new television, radio, print, and [online public service announcements] portray everyday situations and use humor to help prospective parents realize they have the ability to be great parents..."

The campaign is a continuation of a very successful campaign run in 2002 with a similar tag line. Public Service Announcements will direct people to the AdoptUsKids website for more information. Source: PR Newswire

Labels: encouragement, ads

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On a Saturday in June, the parking lot of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, was filled with Disney-themed rides and games. Celebrations like this are far from rare, but this event was unique in one special way: Most of the children who were enjoying the rides were available for adoption.

"In between rigging a game so that every participant could win, Pat Page, director of the Children and Family Services Division .... said the picnic is a way for the children to meet people interested in adoption in an informal setting."

A similar event in 2007 resulted in three or four adoptions, and organizers said they were hoping for more this year. In addition to encourage actual adoption, the event serves to raise awareness about the need for adoptive parents in Arkansas. Source: NWA News

Labels: awareness, encouragement, support

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Her name - Elle Conner - isn't real, but her story is, and she tells it beautifully in "Miracle in the City of Angels: An International Adoption Story."

"As a mother who has experienced raising biological children and an adoptive child, Conner communicates the emotions and events of adoption in a language everyone can relate to, as when she describes the moment the family receives 'The Call.'"

"The Call," of course, is what all adoptive parents wait for: the moment when someone on the other end of a telephone tells them they can come and get their child. Connor and co-author Erin Brown Conroy are already making plans for two follow-up books that will follow the family as they adjust, bond, and grow. Source: Kalamazoo Gazette

Labels: encouragement, support, emotions

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November is National Adoption Month, and the Gladney Center for Adoption in Texas will be celebrating the many families that have been created through adoption. To date the center has places 27,000 children with loving families.

"It is appropriate for National Adoption Month to be positioned in the month of November celebrating a time of Thanksgiving. Using white ribbons to raise awareness, National Adoption Month celebrates families touched by adoption, honors birth mothers for their courageous choice, and remembers children who still need permanent homes."

The white ribbons are meant to remind people of the lifelong benefits that adoption offers and of the millions of lives that are directly, and positively, impacted by adoption.

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Labels: encouragement, support, celebration

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