International adoptions in the U.S. are down 69 percent over the last ten years. That, coupled with the fact that teenage birth rates are declining – down 38.4 percent from 2007 to 2013 – is pushing couples who are looking to grow their families through adoption to explore other options. As National Adoption Month gets underway, Chattanooga-based Bethany Christian Services, a child welfare agency, wants to help the more than 100,000 eligible children in foster care become adopted by permanent families.
In 2013, Bethany launched its No One Without (N.O.W.) campaign to break down the barriers that can occur when placing children from foster care in one state with an adoptive family in another state. Historically, adoption regulations and restrictions that differ from state-to-state have been a hurdle that often prevents eligible children from being adopted.
“More than 23,000 kids age out of the foster care system each year, and we think that is simply unacceptable,” said Bill Blacquiere, president and CEO of Bethany. “The number of vulnerable children waiting for a ... [permanent] family is large, but so, too, is the number of couples looking to adopt. The potential the N.O.W. campaign has to make a difference in the lives of children and families across the country is astounding, and we’re already seeing an increase in foster care adoption inquiries.”
As a part of the N.O.W. launch, Bethany created a national database of prospective adoptive families and eligible foster care children, allowing it to match children with couples across the country. With the new system in place, Bethany has been able to register 90 children and match 43 with permanent families by navigating interstate agreements and regulations, and coordinating visitation, placement, and post-adoption supervision.
“We’re so thankful for the work Bethany did on our behalf and for the financial assistance we received from Initials, Inc., as a result of their commitment to the N.O.W. campaign,” said Lisa Travis, an adoptive parent from New Jersey, who along with her husband, Andy, adopted four siblings from Tennessee. “There were many additional hoops we had to jump through in adopting our children, for no reason other than the fact that they were born in Tennessee and we live in New Jersey. We just wanted to give them a loving home.”
The N.O.W. campaign is currently in 15 states: Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Bethany plans to expand the campaign to all 50 states by 2020.
For more information on Bethany’s N.O.W. campaign, call (855) 485-NOW1, email NOW1@bethany.org, or visit www.bethany.org/now.
Source: Bethany Christian Services