Close to 300 children in Michigan's foster care system are waiting for adoptive families to open their hearts and homes.
To raise awareness of the need, Gov. Rick Snyder has proclaimed November to be Adoption Month in Michigan and Nov. 24 to be Adoption Day. November is also national Adoption Month.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services works with partners in the court system and from private adoption agencies to find loving families who want to adopt. In fiscal year 2015, more than 1,700 children were adopted from the foster care system in Michigan.
"Finding homes that children in our foster care system can call their own is one of the top priorities for MDHHS," said Steve Yager, executive director of the department's Children's Services Agency. "To reach their fullest potential, children need to have permanent homes. When the state can't return a foster child to his or her home, it's imperative that we find a permanent home through adoption as quickly as possible."
People can adopt whether they're single or married. They don't have to be wealthy or own their own home, but must have adequate financial resources to provide for their family.
Children in the foster care system become eligible for adoption following termination of parental rights due to abuse and neglect. There are 13,000 children in the foster care system, but the goal for most of these children is reunification with their families. About 2,100 of the 2,400 children with an adoption goal have identified adoptive families.
Anyone interested in adopting can contact the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange at 800-589-6273 or learn more about the children up for adoption at www.mare.org. For additional information about adoption in Michigan, visit www.michigan.gov/adoption.
Published: Thu, Nov 19, 2015
