It Takes a Team!

Photo Credit: Cory Popp

An extra special thank you to the Jaws Youth Playbook for sponsoring our adoption match partyon June 23rd! 37 children and 25 families came out to the Riversharks’ Campbell Field in Camden, NJ, in hopes that they would make a connection.

[Side note: For those of you who don’t know what an adoption match party is, it’s an event that brings youth in foster care together with adults who have been approved to adopt for a day of getting to know one another. Match parties are a rare opportunity for the children and adults to interact one-on-one, and we often see “magic” happen in the form of a connection that may lead to adoption.]

Saturday’s match party included a fun day of healthy, sports-themed activities in line with the Jaws Youth Playbook’s mission to improve the overall health and wellness of at-risk youth, primarily in the Greater Philadelphia region. The kids enjoyed water ball tosses, relay races and a baseball clinic, and the adults kept up as best as they could too!

By the end of the day we had an impressive 71 inquiries from adults who were interested in learning more about the youth. It is our hope that many of these initial inquiries will progress to permanent adoptions and families!

This life-changing work wouldn’t be possible without our supporters, so we want to send out a huge thank you to Ron "Jaws” Jaworski's and the Jaws Youth Playbook, as well as the Riversharks for their incredible support. We’d also like to thank Wawa for sending 15 absolutely amazing volunteers out to help us make this a day the youth and families would never forget!

LBGT & Adoption

Today I want to blog about LGBT families! For those of you who don’t know what LGBT means, here is the breakdown: L-lesbian, G-gay, B-bisexual and T-transgender. As you know, the National Adoption Center has earned its seal by the Human Rights Campaign for being culturally competent in working with LGBT families.

Since the seal was awarded, I have been receiving numerous emails and phone calls to inquire about LGBT adoption. I am the Center’s primary LGBT Adoption Advocate, and being awarded the seal has increased awareness in the community. This has been an enlightening journey for all involved. From my perspective, I didn’t realize how many folks thought adoption was barred for them. For members of the LGBT community, they can now actually consider growing their family via adoption.

I, and others here at NAC, have been able to educate families about the possibility of becoming parents for the first time through adoption. Some families have taken the next step and been referred to an agency to begin that process.

If you are or know a member of the LGBT community who would like information on adoption and foster care, please do not hesitate to call me at 215-735-9988 ext 311.

If you want to post a comment about our seal, LGBT adoption, or advocacy, please feel free………..

written by Sheina Martinez

Finding the Right Adoption Agency

Hi Everyone, My name is Christine Jacobs and I am the Program Director for the National Adoption Center and its regional affiliate the Adoption Center of Delaware Valley. I am really excited about a project our staff is working on to help families who want to adopt – an online service that would match families with the most appropriate adoption agency.

We know from speaking with families that most may experience confusion when faced with the dilemma of selecting an adoption agency to start the process. Families we speak with want to know: How do I know which agency is best for my family? Does the agency work with single families who want to adopt? Will the adoption agency work with a member of the lesbian or gay community?

The Center conducted research with families in the Delaware Valley in 2008 to find out if an online service that would match them with an adoption agency would be useful. It was clear from our research that families would welcome this type of service. So, we were able, with the support of several foundations in the area, to raise the money to build it! We hope to begin this service in the fall of 2009.

With the online Family- to- Agency Matching service, families can look forward to ratings of adoption agencies by other families; the ability to match with an adoption agency on their family’s needs and more exciting features. It is our hope that this will reduce the amount of time to find the most appropriate agency from several weeks to 30 minutes! Do you think this would be a helpful service and do you have suggestions for other features you would like to see included? We welcome your ideas!

Match Party in the News!

This Wednesday the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about our most recent Teen Match Party. To read the article, click here. The article not only covers the day's events, but also probes the reasons why those who were there participated.

One story which touched me was about a couple with a college-aged child who felt they wanted to help more children, but didn't want to change diapers. Adopting a teen is perfect for them, allowing them to contribute while not putting them through challenges they do not feel prepared to handle.

We also have a few match parties coming up, so look on our website for more information regarding those. They will be held in Pittsburgh and in the Delaware Valley region in the upcoming months.

Accompanying the story online is a poll regarding adoption. At this point in time, 67% state that they would be interested in adopting a teen or child. Another 7% would adopt a child. Remember we at the National Adoption Center are here for you. You can view our resources online: we offer information, via our online course and reference materials; support via our social network; and referrals, online or call us at: 1-800-TO-ADOPT.