CHICAGO (WAND) — November is Adoption Awareness Month.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services will celebrate the month with courtrooms across the state during special Adoption Day celebrations on November 22 in Chicago, November 23 in Rockford, and December 27 in Edwardsville.
“We have all heard the expression about giving our children ‘roots’ and ‘wings’ to grow into successful adults,” said Illinois DCFS Director Heidi E. Mueller. “This Adoption Awareness Month, Illinois DCFS wants to recognize the very special role adoptive parents play when they open their hearts and homes to children in need. We especially want to lift up and thank adoptive parents across Illinois who give children in need roots by ensuring connections to community, including racial, ethnic and cultural identities; and their wings by reminding them that they will always have a safe, supportive and loving family to come home to, no matter what.”
DCFS said 19,347 children have been welcomed into a loving family in the past decade in Illinois. And last fiscal year, 2,184 children were adopted into permanent families.
The fight for a family still continues though, as 18,850 children are waiting in their care for a family and a place to call home. For more information about becoming an adoptive parent, visit dcfs.illinois.gov and click on “Loving Homes” then on “Become a Foster or Adoptive Parent.”
DCFS stresses that adoption is a serious and permanent commitment to a child. The agency offers supports for adoptive families, including reimbursement for court costs, a monthly stipend, medical care benefits, and encourage families to become a foster family before adopting.
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