Perhaps you have seen the Facebook posts of friends and family celebrating the pictures of their adopted children. Maybe you attended an Orphan Sunday event at your church to educate and inform yourself about adoption options and supportive services you can engage in for orphans without families. You may have read proclamations or letters from officials offering their support for adoption in the US and talking about local opportunities to adopt or foster children. However you may have heard about it, November is National Adoption Month.
The United States first designated November as National Adoption month in 1995 so that citizens could focus on the need for adoptive families and raise awareness of the many children who needed permanent adoptive homes, both here and abroad. Every child deserves a safe, loving and permanent family. Adoption practices and regulations worldwide are designed to protect the best interests of all children, their adoptive parents and the birth families. Adoption month helps to celebrate the special bonds and joys of creating families through the process of adoption. President Trump recently noted that Adoption is a life changing event and has a life-long impact on all those involved with the process.
Last year, adoptions took place in 92 countries across the globe and in every state in the US. There are an estimated 153 million orphans worldwide. There are an estimated 422,000 children under the age of 18 in foster care in the US. United States citizens completed a total of 271,823 adoptions in 2017 from international, foster care, kinship, and domestic opportunities. Sadly, international adoptions overall have dropped dramatically since 2004. Then, there were 22,989 international adoptions as compared to only 4714 adoptions in 2017. Some statisticians note that there is even a current drop in both domestic and foster care adoptions right now as well. With all of these millions of vulnerable children waiting patiently for a loving adoptive family, isn’t it time that you decided to help them?
At MLJ Adoptions International, our focus is on adoption…..all day, every day. Our staff is trained and experienced in adoption processes and procedures and in working with families who have returned home with their children. We are here for your questions and want to be your support in those times of stress, concerns and fears. We are accessible by phone, email or by accessing our website www.mljadoptions.com . We are here to help you on your adoption journey. Let us help you make a personal impact on those millions of waiting children. We can help you make adoption month every month!
Karlene Edgemon, MS, LSW
Karlene Edgemon works as MLJ Adoptions’ Director of Social Services. Throughout her 25 year social services career, Karlene has been able to watch adoption transform the lives of children and she is always brainstorming new ways to support adoptive families before, during and after their adoption.
Karlene Edgemon, MS, LSW
Karlene Edgemon works as MLJ Adoptions’ Director of Social Services. Throughout her 25 year social services career, Karlene has been able to watch adoption transform the lives of children and she is always brainstorming new ways to support adoptive families before, during and after their adoption.