November is National Adoption Month

In Nevada, there are more than 4,600 children and teens in foster care. Many of these children have spent several years in foster care and are seeking more permanent connections through adoption by a family or adult mentor.

National Adoption Month is an initiative sponsored by the Children’s Bureau, in partnership with AdoptUSKids and Child Welfare Information Gateway. Each November, National Adoption Month brings awareness to the needs of children and teens waiting for a “forever family.” This year the theme is building an effective local response system to support prospective families in the initial stages of considering a teen adoption—and the later stages of preparing for and adjusting to it — by offering support services at every step. Teenagers are often hard to place, but they are as much in need of permanency as younger children and risk exiting the foster care system without any legal or emotional ties. A young person bereft of any family ties lacks the foundational support all youth need as they mature into adulthood.

Supportive and committed relationships are critical in helping teens prepare and succeed as they enter adulthood. Supporting Nevada agencies in the work of identifying, informing, encouraging, and helping prospective adoptive families at every turn increases the odds more young people will find meaningful permanency.

An Adoption Month kickoff event held on November 3, 2017, at the Governor’s Mansion honored families who have adopted children out of foster care in Nevada. The help of Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) staff and community partners who donated their time and food made the event a success.

DCFS would like to thank the following businesses and agencies for their donations and attendance at the event: Port of Subs (Hwy 50, Carson City); Firehouse Subs (Hwy 50, Carson City); Round Table Pizza (Retail Drive, Carson City); Costco (Carson City); Ron Wood Family Resource Center (Carson City); The Adoption Exchange (Nevada); Premier Adoption Agency (Las Vegas); Douglas County Judge Gregory; Carson City District Attorney Jason Woodbury and Assistant District Attorney Kristin Luis and Deputy District Attorney Buffy Okuma; Senior Deputy Attorney General Sharon Benson and Deputy Attorney General Tirzah Matthews; Carson City Sheriff’s Office; and volunteer DCFS staff.

For more information on how to foster to adopt in Nevada, call 888-723-2659.