Nearly 400,000 children are currently in foster care nationally. More than 100,000 of those kids are legally available for adoption. November is National Adoption Awareness month and one local business is doing their part to help connect children in need to individuals who may be looking to make an addition to their family.
From now until November 10th, Bailey’s Discount Center will feature a photo exhibit from the Indiana Heart Gallery. The Indiana Heart Gallery is an organization that travels around the state with compelling portraits and stories of children in need of adoptive families. In 2007, the program was started by the Indiana Department of Child Services in order to put actual faces on a need that sometimes seems invisible.
Many of the children featured in the gallery are considered “hard-to-place” meaning they may have special needs, be older or could be a part of a sibling group. The program helps increase awareness about foster youth available for adoption and prompts community members to learn more about the foster to adoption process.
DCS Adoption Program Manager Sandra Caesar said that on average they are actively recruiting adoptive homes for 120 to 150 youth statewide. A solid support system early on can mean the difference between a rocky future and successfully transitioning into adulthood.
Caesar said they seek families who are not only willing to love the child, but those who will also commit to them, claim them as their own and be willing to hang in there through their ups and downs.
To view the Indiana Heart Gallery while it is available locally, visit Bailey’s Discount Center at 5900 S. Range Road in North Judson before November 10th.
