From the Desk of Gloria

This is National Adoption  Month and I look back 38 years to the day the National Adoption Center opened its doors.  It was a time that adoption was mainly for babies and no one knew whether anyone would consider adopting a child with Down syndrome or cerebral palsy, a child who was blind or a family of children who wanted to stay together.  Today, after having helped create families for 22,000 children, I think about the dramatic changes that have made that possible.  Among them were increasing interest in adoption from the federal government, the initiation of adoption subsidies, adoption events where prospective adopters could meet children waiting for families, focus on teenagers with the recognition that there are families who are interested in adopting them, the advent of adoption through the Internet, the rise of social media empowering would-be adopters to become more savvy when approaching agencies, and the advent of the Center’s  AdoptMatch program which allows those interested in adoption to connect online with welcoming agencies, then rate the service they receive.   The Freddie Mac Foundation and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption continue to make substantial contributions to making a permanent home reality for so many children.  So are media throughout the country who in print, on the air and online spread the word that 115,000 children in this country still wait for families.  The National Adoption Center is unwavering in its belief that “there are no unwanted children…just unfound families.”  It will continue to find them.