Small Steps, Open Doors

Makenna Goertzen
Assistant Editor
  In 1995, President Bill Clinton proclaimed November to be National Adoption Month. National Adoption Month began as National adoption week in 1984 and is initiated by The Children’s Bureau -an adoption awareness organization. The campaign seeks to “increase awareness of adoption issues, bring attention to the need for adoptive families for teens in the U.S. foster care system, and emphasize the value of youth engagement” (ChildWelfare). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “nearly 424,000 children” living in the United States are currently in the foster care system, and “over 122,000” of them are eligible and waiting to be adopted. However, over 114,000 children and youth nationwide are at risk of aging out of the system without permanent family connections. This is why in recent years, the Children’s Bureau has focused its efforts on adoption for teens. Their reason is that “teens in foster care wait longer for permanency than younger children and are at higher risk for aging out.” The goal is to provide and secure lifelong connections for young adults who are currently being overlooked by potential adopters.
  Each year, a new adoption-related theme is picked and becomes the main focus of the Children’s Bureau outreach and awareness campaigns. 2022’s theme is “Small Steps Open Doors,” which represents the difficulties of finding permanency for young adults and how “small steps along the way can make all the difference.” The topic focuses on how to earn the trust of teenagers in the foster care system, help them become more engaged in their own permanency planning, and create an environment where they can be honest and ask questions by taking the time to listen and talk with them. They believe that youth should be involved in these decisions and should be involved in the decisions being made about their permanency planning. Their initiative is supported through a partnership with two other adoption awareness organizations; Child Welfare Information Gateway and AdoptUSKids.
  National Adoption Month aims to further educate communities and provide support for the youth currently facing hardships that being in the foster care system can produce, such as neglect, abuse, frequently moving from one family to another, loss of important relationships, and so much more. According to AdoptUsKids, People across the United States can help by mentoring a child in foster care, offering free photography and videographer services to adoption agencies, fundraising or donating supplies to foster care organizations or families, and much more.
 
 To learn more about National Adoption Month and how to help support this month's efforts, go to: 
childwelfare.gov
acf.hhs.gov
healthandwelfare.idaho.gov
ccainstitute.org
youth.gov
adoptuskids.org/