Wendy's Wonderful Kids Spotlight - Juwon & Tyrek

At my last visit with brothers, Juwon and Tyrek, I asked them what they wanted in a Forever Family. By the end of the visit, I walked out of their foster home with 2 pages worth of notes about what they dreamed their adoptive family would be like.

Both were very enthusiastic about expressing what they would want in a Forever Home. Some characteristics they wanted in a family were: To have a mom and a dad, to live in a nice quiet neighborhood, to have other siblings if possible, they must be a sports loving family, must like music including at least a little bit of hip hop, must like going on vacations and playing video games. Juwon wanted a house big enough to not get in trouble for making noise when playing his drum set. Tyrek wanted a family who knew how to make really good food, and could help him learn how to play the guitar.

By the end of the list, the boys started getting silly, listing that they wanted flat-screen TVs in all rooms of the house, a refrigerator filled with root beer in their bedroom, and a go-cart track in the back yard. I told them that would probably not be possible, but hey you never know!

The boys are adorable and so funny. They need a home where they can grow up together. These brothers are very close and look to each other for support. If you would like more information about Juwon & Tyrek, please contact me, Amy Cressman at 215-739-9988 ext. 319 or at acressman@adopt.org.

Census Report on Adopted Children

In its first-ever profile of America's adopted children, the U.S. Census Bureau said today that Census 2000 data show that adopted children under age 18 tended to live in households that were better off economically than those of biological children.
For example, the bureau said, adopted children lived in households with a median income of $56,000 a year versus $48,000 for biological children, and 78 percent of adopted children lived in homes that were owned by their adoptive parents versus 67 percent of biological children.

The report, Adopted Children and Stepchildren: 2000, examines the characteristics of the nation's 2.1 million adopted children and 4.4 million stepchildren. For the first time, the Census 2000 questionnaire included "adopted son/daughter" as one of the options under the relationship-to-householder question separate from "natural born son/daughter" and "stepson/stepdaughter”.

The data are designed to assist agencies that serve adoptive families such as the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse of the Administration for Children and Families. The data also may inform policy-makers who develop legislation related to adoptive families such as the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, and the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993.