Feature
November
17
Families, Agencies Celebrate National Adoption Month
Terry Trahan Jr.
Families across the U.S. celebrate National Adoption Month in November, a time for learning about how both couples and the single population can extend their families by welcoming a child into their homes.
Throughout the month, organizations like the Child Welfare Information Gateway host events and educate potential parents on what it means to adopt and how they can begin the process that requires both love and commitment.
In 1976, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis announced an adoption week in that state. The idea gained national attention in 1984 when President Ronald Reagan announced the country’s first National Adoption Week. President Bill Clinton later extended the observance to the entire month of November.
Since then, agencies, families and others involved with child welfare systems have used the opportunity to share stories about successful adoptions and raise awareness for needs in their own communities.
Locally, the Thibodaux Region Department of Children and Family Services hosted an event Nov. 9 at the Houma Courthouse Square. The event included two poetry readings, a few words by District Judge Randy Bethancourt, a proclamation presented by Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet, and the revealing of the 2011 Thibodaux Region Adoptive Parents of the Year, the Rev. George and Joyce Carter.
“The word that keeps coming back is the word ‘love,’” said Bethancourt, whose daughter is adopted. “When talking about adoptive parents, you have to talk about love. They don’t always know what they’re going to get, but they do it with love.”
That love has been extended to 50 children adopted out of the foster care system in the Thibodaux Region over the past year. The region oversees seven parishes, including Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John and Terrebonne. Still, 435 kids remain in the region’s foster care system.
Terrebonne Parish has 55 certified foster and adoptive homes, according to the Thibodaux Region DCFS, and there are 143 children in custody. In Lafourche Parish, there are 30 homes with 125 children.
Though these two parishes produce the highest numbers, the surrounding communities have needs as well. The Thibodaux Region DCFS works to meet these needs, but its programs also face challenges with budget cuts. And like most agencies, the workers struggle to find homes for older children, especially those in their teenage years because most families seek to adopt infants.
“We’re getting a lot of children that we’re having trouble placing,” said Teri Hebert, a child welfare specialist with the Thibodaux Region’s home development unit. “We’re desperate for foster parents.”
Sometimes the goal is to eventually reunite the child with his or family; that’s where foster parents come in. In these cases, the biological parents retain full parental rights as the children live in another home. Hebert said having children come in and out of the home can be difficult on an emotional level for foster parents, which is why there’a a great need for these families in the area.
On the adoption side, the process can be challenging for individuals who make the choice to adopt, but must meet a list of criteria to become certified as adoptive parents. These criteria include being at least 21 years old, having adequate space in the home for the child, passing a criminal records check, and being able to give the child the attention he or she deserves. Once they gain certification, they can begin searching for that special someone.
“There’s a misconception that once you’re certified, you’ll get a child,” Hebert said. “It’s a process. It doesn’t always happen quickly.”
But it does happen, and despite the challenges, Hebert said matches between children and their adoptive parents create the greatest experiences.
“It starts with a phone call,” Hebert said.
