Recognizing National Adoption Month in November

November is a time to be thankful for friends and family. However, according to Adopt US Kids, over 400,000 children don’t have a family to return to and are living in the foster care system. That is why recognizing National Adoption Month in November is important.
According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, Adoption Month began in 1976 when the governor of Massachusetts announced an Adoption Week to help promote children who are in foster care and are in need of families. The idea was so well received that it spread nationwide, and it was soon made a national week by President Reagan in 1984. President Clinton changed Adoption Week to Adoption Month in 1995.
While this month is about every child in the adoption system, it also focuses on teenagers because they are at a higher rate of aging out of the system than younger children. According to Alternative Family Services, one in five teens in the adoption system ages out of the system instead of being adopted. Additionally, when foster teens reach the age of 24, they are 50% more likely to develop substance abuse and are 50% less likely to have a steady job.
The Indiana Adoption Program promotes National Adoption Month by posting different stories of children that have already been adopted and photos of different children who are currently up for adoption. On their website, there are different areas that can show what children are up for adoption, and it shows the requirements on how to adopt a child.
To support National Adoption Month, the Child Welfare Information Gateway recommends sharing information about adoption and talking to families that are foster families or families who have adopted a child.