The “All-American Family” of today looks totally different from that of the 1950’s, and one reason for that is adoption. Every year, over 120,000 children are adopted in the United States. There are 1.5 million adopted children living in the U.S. Many of those children come from the foster care system. In Kansas alone, there are approximately 850 children in foster care that are waiting to be adopted.
Although adoption is common, there are still a lot of misconceptions that stop families from considering it as an option. Adopt Kansas Kids wants to help get the facts straight about adoption.
Adoption is too expensive.
Actually, adoption through foster care in Kansas has little or no cost at all. Some of the costs associated with the adoption and taking care of your child can be covered by subsidy programs, medical cards, tax credits and grants.
You have to own your own home.
The reality is that you don’t have to own your own home, or even live in a house. The only housing requirement is that there is enough room in the home for each family member, and the home is safe. Adoptive families can live in anything from a mobile home to a mansion- it doesn’t matter.
Only married, two-parent families can adopt.
You don’t have to be married to adopt. Many single people adopt and are very successful adoptive parents.
Most children that need adopted are babies or toddlers.
It is more common to find older children awaiting adoption- most of the children in foster care are over 8 years old. In Kansas, you’ll find children up to the age of 17 that are looking for a family. Many of the children in foster care have been removed from their families’ homes through no fault of their own, but because they were abused or neglected by their parent(s). Because of this, a lot of the children in foster care have siblings that need adopted, too. It’s also common for foster children to have special needs.
I’m too old to adopt.
There isn’t an age limit for adoptive parents. In fact, many empty nesters are adopting after their kids have grown up and moved out of the house. Each family is reviewed on a case by case basis to make sure they can successfully care for a child and provide a safe and stable home.
If you would like to find out more information about adoption, call Adopt Kansas Kids at 877-457-5430. To view a list of current children awaiting adoption in Kansas, visit https://www.adoptkskids.org/Ad_Exch_Quick_Search.aspx.
Disclosure: This content is provided by or on behalf of a local business. The content is not subject to the editorial policies of the FetchToto newsroom and is not reviewed for accuracy, objectivity or balance.
