November is National Adoption Month… and Grand Rapids adoption and foster organization D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s is using the month to call attention to and help place four local children with forever families. Officials say it’s important to get kids adopted before they “age out” of the system.
With November being “National Adoption Month”, D. A. Blodgett is hoping to build awareness about the need for having foster and adoptive parents who can provide homes for local children. The nonprofit says as the number of children that come into their system increases so does the need for foster parents. Joy Engelsman is the Adoption and Foster Home Licensing Manager for D. A. Blodgett-St. John’s.
“We are seeing an increase in need, specifically for teenagers. We have a lot of teenagers right now who are available for adoption and have been available for adoption for three plus years. And that has just been exasperated due to COVID; hoping that National Adoption Month will bring an increased awareness again, so that people will step forward if they’ve thought about adopting before to fill that need.”
Engelsman says the ultimate goal is what she calls a “forever home” for the children. But this month they zeroing in on four children who have been in the system now for three to six years and are getting older… the children’s ages range from 11 to 16 years old.
“So, the four that we have, they have been available for adoption for three to six years, approximately. So, really wanting to highlight the highest need for what we need for adoptive families. These four children are age range from 11 to 16. These kids desperately need someone to guide them through these middle and high school years.”
For those who may be interested, Engelsman says they have a lot of information on their website at Dabsj.org, adding they host an informational meeting at least once a month.
