National Adoption Month: Every child deserves a safe, loving and permanent family

Since 1995, National Adoption Month has been celebrated every November in communities across the country.

According to the most recent Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System data, there are more than 440,000 children in foster care in the U.S., and more than 123,000 children waiting to be adopted (more than 13,000 are 15 to 17 years old).

Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health is proud to work with foster and adoptive families to help children find a loving family and a permanent place to call home.

“National Adoption Month is incredibly important because it shines a light on the thousands of children in foster care who are still waiting for their forever families,” said Devereux Arizona Director of Foster Care Services Paul Davis. “Teenagers, especially, need strong family support. There are many teens in foster care who lose hope that they will be adopted just because they are older. We can give these individuals hope again by connecting them with families who will provide them with the love and stability they need and deserve.”

2019 National Adoption Month campaign

Each year, the Children’s Bureau – part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – launches a campaign to highlight the need for permanent families for children in the U.S. foster care system. This year’s National Adoption Month theme is “Youth Voices: Why Family Matters.”

“For youth in foster care, adoption means that they belong and can feel connected to a family who will support them no matter what,” explained Children’s Bureau Associate Commissioner Jerry Milner in a message announcing the 2019 theme. “This year’s National Adoption Month campaign focuses on finding adoptive families for older youth and highlights the importance of empowering the voice of young people in conversations about permanency, planning for their future, and the value of relationships.”

Devereux’s foster care services

Devereux’s foster care programs operate with the belief that all individuals deserve a loving, supportive family and a positive home environment to help them reach their full potential. Our foster care services are offered in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and include:

Traditional Foster Care (FL, PA): Foster care homes for youth that provide 24-hour crisis consultation and support to families, as well as in-home assistance and foster parent support groups.
Therapeutic Foster Care (AZ, FL, GA, MA/RI, NJ, PA): Specially-trained foster parent homes that provide a stable, supportive and highly-supervised home environment for youth with medical, psychological, social and emotional needs.
Treatment Family Program (PA): Specialized, intensive foster care services for youth diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorders.
Adult Therapeutic Foster Care (AZ, FL, PA): Foster or life-sharing homes for adults diagnosed with developmental differences and/or mental illness who need support with daily activities in a family-based setting.
Respite Care (AZ, PA): Foster care homes that offer planned respite care for youth to prevent out-of-home placements. Devereux also offers respite care for adults in our foster care programs.

How to become a foster parent

Are you interested in becoming a foster parent to a child with emotional, behavioral or cognitive differences? Devereux seeks a diverse pool of foster parents/providers who reflect our diverse clientele. We welcome single, married, partnered or cohabitating individuals to become foster parent/providers.

Devereux works closely with LGBTQ foster and adoptive families. As a result of our efforts, four Devereux centers (Devereux Arizona, Devereux Florida, Devereux Georgia and Devereux Pennsylvania Children’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services) were recently recognized by the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the U.S., for establishing policies and practices that support LGBTQ foster and adoptive parents. Read a previous article on this topic.

“We have worked hard to establish, build and promote a culture of diversity and inclusion at Devereux,” shared Davis. “We proudly recruit, train and support LGBTQ foster and adoptive parents, and recognize the unique experiences and strengths they bring to these programs. Achieving recognition from the HRC firmly establishes Devereux as a welcoming and affirming organization committed to connecting amazing temporary or permanent caregivers with children in need of loving and nurturing homes.”

Learn more about Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health’s foster care services.

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