Wendy's Wonderful Kids Spolight

This month, I am adding a new child to my Wendy’s Wonderful Kids caseload. He will be the youngest child in my program by far; Camron is only 4 years old. Though he is so young, Camron has been waiting to find a Forever Family for over a year. Sadly, he is the victim of shaken baby syndrome. Because of this, Camron has many special medical needs, which have made it difficult to find the right family for this endearing little boy.

Camron is a happy child who greatly enjoys being the center of attention! One of his favorite activities is playing with others. Camron has limited vision and is unable to talk. However, he does speak his own language, especially when excited or happy in his surroundings. The most effective method of communication with him is through touch. Thus, Camron is happiest in water and outdoors. Vibrant and content, he is the most “chatty” when camping outside. At home, when not playing, Camron is normally quiet in his crib. Camron loves to snuggle and greatly enjoys attention. He loves interacting with others, especially when people gently "rough play" with him.

Camron is wheelchair bound and receives a lot of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. He also works with a deaf/blind teacher. He is starting to use touch cues to help him prepare for things being done to him (for example, hands together means he wants to play with a ball), though he is still limited in his sight tracking.

It will be hard work to find the right family for him, but his Delaware social worker and I have decided that this is the year to find Camron his home! We are ready to work hard to find his Forever Family. If you have experience with special needs children and are looking to adopt, you may be the right parent for him! I know the right family is out there for Camron; one who is ready to give him all of the love and attention he deserves.

For more information about Camron contact me, Amy Cressman, at 215-735-9988 ext. 31. You can also email me at acressman@adopt.org

Haiti Update

Americans frustrated by the usual lengthy wait of at least 18 months to bring their adopted children home from Haiti have been given a helping hand by the United States government.

On January 18, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and the U.S. Department of State announced a humanitarian parole policy allowing orphaned Haitian children to enter the U.S. temporarily on an case-by-case basis, to ensure that they receive the care they need. The policy applies to children who have been adopted by U.S. citizens or who have been matched to prospective adoptive parents who are U.S. citizens.

Tens of thousands of Haitian children have been orphaned by the devastation. Even before the quake, there were 380,000 orphaned children in Haiti, according the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Stirred by the plight of these children, Americans throughout the country have responded with an outpouring of offers to take them into their homes. In Pennsylvania alone, in the two days after Governor Ed Rendall brought 53 orphans from Port-au-Prince to Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Department of Human Services received 430 phone calls from people wanting to become adoptive or foster parents for them. In Philadelphia, over 300 such calls have come in to the National Adoption Center since the airlift from Haiti.

The National Adoption Center applauds those who want to open their homes and hearts to these deserving youngsters. However, we hope families keep in mind that there are other children who are also deserving of a loving family—the 130,000 children across the country in foster care waiting for permanent homes. Sixteen hundred of them are in the Delaware Valley.

For a free information packet regarding adopting children from the foster care system, call 215-735-9988, or visit the website at www.adopt.org.

Haitian Orphan Update

This is the most recent information we have on the children in Haiti whose lives have been upended by the devastating earthquake that hit that country. For some children—several hundred—adoptions were in the works at the time of the earthquake. The safety of those children is in question, and efforts are being made to locate the paperwork associated with their adoptions.

A group of 53 children was brought to Pittsburgh, PA. by Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell. They had been living in a Haitian orphanage run by two sisters, formerly from Pittsburgh. The children are now in custody of the Allegheny County Children and Youth Services and will be placed in foster homes after they leave Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital where they were taken from the airport.

Most of those children already have adoption plans in place. For the others, it will take considerable time to learn whether or not they have family alive in Haiti and whether they will eventually be available to be adopted. If they are to be adopted, prospective adoptive parents will need home studies which can be conducted by a licensed adoption agency.

Contact us for additional information or you may contact the Allegheny County Children and Youth Services—412-473-2000 or Three Rivers Adoption Council—412-471-8722 or jwilson@3riversadopt.org. Media may contact Gloria Hochman at 215-588-0506.

Foreign Adoptions Down

Each year thousands of Americans seeking to add to their families by adoption look overseas to fulfill their desires. However, this route is becoming increasingly difficult. In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, foreign adoptions were down by more than a quarter from the previous year.

China, the major source of foreign adoptions by Americans, is more and more focusing on domestic adoptions and has imposed stringent requirements for people outside the country. Russia, too, is promoting adoption at home. Guatemala has closed its borders to foreign adoption while reforms to the system are being made and it is not certain when Americans can again adopt from the country.

Hopefully, Americans thwarted in their efforts to adopt internationally will look homeward to the 130,000 children in the United States now languishing in foster care waiting to find “forever” homes. 1600 of them are in the Delaware Valley.

These are usually not infants and many families may be reluctant to take on the care and raising of children whose ideas and attitudes have already been formed. The majority of these children are school age and many of them are teens. However, they desire and deserve the same kind of attention and love showered on infants or younger children. Some of them are siblings who need to be adopted together.

Adoptive parents do not need to have a specific income and they do not need to own their own homes. Many of the children are eligible for financial subsidy. Please contact us if you would like more information about adopting children out of the foster care system. Call today for a free packet of information, 215-735-9988 or visit us at www.adopt.org.

Wendy's Key Tag Program

Adoption and the Adoption Center have no better friend then Wendy’s. And there’s no better way to show your support of Adoption then by stopping by your nearest Philadelphia-area Wendy’s location and purchasing a Frosty Key Tag for $1.00. Then show your key tag and get a free Junior Frosty with any purchase for all of 2010. Proceeds benefit the Adoption Center and will help us match more vulnerable children with their forever families then ever before! Thank you Wendy’s!