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National Foster Care Month Honors 101,840 Children Waiting to be Adopted

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Lauren Koch
(703) 299-6633 lkoch@adoptioncouncil.org

National Foster Care Month Honors 101,840 Children Waiting to be Adopted

May 21, 2015 – Alexandria, VA – May 2015 is National Foster Care Month, a time when the nation recognizes achievements made to improve the lives of children in foster care while acknowledging the need for improvement. According to the Children’s Bureau, there are currently 402,378 children living in U.S. foster care, with 101,840 of those children waiting to be adopted.

“Raising awareness of kids waiting to be adopted is really important. These children are living in temporary homes in our own communities and neighborhoods, just waiting to find their forever family,” says National Council For Adoption Vice President Lauren Koch. “There are thousands of adults every year who take that leap of faith and adopt a child. During National Foster Care Month, we hope that people will take the first step to learn more about becoming a foster or adoptive parent.”

During National Foster Care Month, National Council For Adoption (NCFA) is debuting new educational resources and information for those interested in learning more about foster care, including an issue of the acclaimed Adoption Advocate on the human, social, and economic cost of aging out of foster care, written by Dr. Wayne W. Sharp, Chair-Elect. These resources can be found at AdoptionCouncil.org.

NCFA’s Families For All program aims to reverse the waitlist so that instead of children in foster care waiting for families, there will be families waiting for children. The interactive website at FamiliesForAll.org has a state-by-state guide for adults across the U.S. to get involved in their area. From volunteering to mentoring to becoming a foster or adoptive parent, everyone can do something to help a child in foster care.

On May 26th and 28th, NCFA president and CEO Chuck Johnson is presenting the inaugural Warren and Mary Alice Babineaux Award to Governor Kasich of Ohio and Governor Hickenlooper of Colorado. Governors Kasich and Hickenlooper have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in prioritizing best practice services for children in who are awaiting adoption out of foster care.

The Warren and Mary Alice Babineaux Award honors individuals and organizations that have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure children experience the love and stability that come with a forever family. This award is given to those who have demonstrated the most selfless commitment to providing resources, education, and leadership to address the many challenges including parent recruitment, training, and support services necessary to give children safe, stable, and loving adoptive families. The Warren and Mary Alice Babineaux Award acknowledges the dedicated efforts of those who have generously given their time, talents, and resources to ensure that all children can “come home” to a loving, forever family. The award is named for Adoption Hall of Fame recipients Warren and Mary Alice Babineaux who cared for more than 100 children in foster care during their decades-long tenure as foster and adoptive parents in Louisiana.

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ABOUT NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION

Founded in 1980, National Council For Adoption (NCFA) is a global adoption advocacy nonprofit that promotes a culture of adoption through education, research, legislative action, and collaboration. As the authoritative voice for adoption, NCFA’s areas of focus include domestic infant adoption, adoption and permanency outcomes for youth in foster care, and intercountry adoption. Passionately committed to the belief that every child deserves to thrive in a nurturing, permanent family, NCFA serves children, birth parents, adopted individuals, adoptive families, and adoption professionals. In addition, we work tirelessly to educate U.S. and foreign government officials and policymakers, members of the media, and all those in the general public with an interest in adoption.

For more information, visit www.AdoptionCouncil.org.