Monroe: Have You Ever Considered Expanding Your Family?

An announcement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

Sibling relationships are the longest lasting relationships in the lives of most people. Research has demonstrated that the bond between siblings is critically important for children’s emotional growth and development. Currently, there are more than 102,000 children and youth in foster care in the United States. Two-thirds of these children and youth have a sibling who is also in foster care.

To bring attention to the importance of sibling connections for these children and youth in foster care, the theme of this year’s National Adoption Month is “Promoting and Supporting Sibling Connections.”

Each November since 1990, the nation has celebrated National Adoption Month as a time to raise public awareness of these children and youth who deserve and are currently waiting for the love and protection that a permanent family can provide.

In partnership with AdoptUSKids and Child Welfare Information Gateway, the 2014 National Adoption Month website provides resources for professionals, families and youth. Relevant information is also available for all members of the “adoption triad”—birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptive persons.

The National Adoption Month website offers a variety of resources tailored to these different audiences:

• About National Adoption Month is geared to all audiences and describes the history of National Adoption Month, the focus of this year’s initiative, and ways in which the Children’s Bureau supports adoption.
• Professionals can get information to (1) help engage local media and (2) increase their capacity to recruit and retain families who can support sibling connections.
• Families and youth can find information on adopting from foster care and can view powerful videos featuring youth and adoptive families. Youth can learn about how to get involved in their permanency plans, stay connected with adults and other teens through social media, stay safe online and more.
• Spread the word is a section of the website that provides the basics of using social media and offers sample media messages. You can also read President Obama’s proclamation of November as National Adoption Month and find information about other activities.

In addition to this audience specific information, visit the National Adoption Month website for specialized strategies for recruiting and identifying families in which to place sibling groups, promising practices that States are using to promote sibling connections, ways to inform youth of their right to maintain connections with their siblings, and information about how to adopt children and youth from foster care. The website also offers an opportunity to “Meet the Children” with pictures and brief descriptions of siblings who are waiting in foster care for families and sample media messages to help jurisdictions “Spread the Word” about National Adoption Month efforts.

As keeping children and youth in foster care connected with their siblings, extended families, and communities has grown in importance, the federal government has taken a leadership role in mandating reasonable efforts to maintain sibling relationships through the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. This law requires states to make reasonable efforts to maintain sibling connections for children in foster care in order to receive federal funding.

We hope you will consider ways your jurisdiction can promote and support sibling connections during National Adoption Month.

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Photo: adoptionsupport.org