AdoptUSKids foster care and adoption specialists talk with dozens of prospective parents every day. They provide information, guidance, connections to local resources, and—in at least one mother’s case—much-needed hope. She shares her story below.
After many failed paths to adopt, a friend told me about AdoptUSKids. I went straight to the website, skimmed the information, and sent a request to be contacted. Before the end of the day I received a call from an AdoptUSKids specialist. She listened to our dreams, described our options, and put helpful information in the mail to us.
What I learned revived me with hope.
Before visiting the AdoptUSKids website, my husband and I had pursued many failed paths to adoption. We knew nothing about adopting through foster care. After reading the information on the website and talking with an adoption specialist, we realized that adoption from foster care was an affordable, positive way to help children in need. We quickly realized that this was how we would make our family complete.
Within a week, we were enrolled in foster parent training classes. We were finally on the right path to adopt.
Today we are the parents of two adopted children—a brother and sister. Their adoptions were finalized in August 2011 and February 2013. Along with our birth daughter, they have made our lives complete.
Of course there have been tears along the way.
And we know there are hurdles ahead. Thankfully, we are part of a huge network of adoptive families, most of whom we first met in foster parent training and continuing education classes. We share stories, fears, advice, and successes.
I also find a wealth of resources online. I search Google and YouTube a lot, and am also active on a couple of social media adoption groups, including the AdoptUSKids Facebook group.
Hopefully I have helped other families.
Ever since our first visit to adoptuskids.org, I have been pointing other people to the site—and telling anyone I can about the need for foster and adoptive families for children. There are a lot of scary stories about adopting from foster care. And it is true, it does take time, partially because parents need to be given a chance to get their kids back. But it’s also true that there are a lot of kids out there who need homes. And if you think you might be able to help even one child get a good home, the AdoptUSKids website is the place to start.
