November is Adoption Month

Around this time of year, most of us are adding to ever-expanding to-do lists…turkey, tinsel, parties. However the trimmings and gifts can’t hold a candle to the warm embrace of family.

This year, dozens of local children will experience that simple and profound truth as they are officially welcomed by their forever families.

Saturday November 21, 2015 is National Adoption Day, a day when families, judges and child advocates join together to do something great – create forever families.

Lighthouse Youth Services is certified as a foster-to-adopt agency, one of few in Ohio. Lighthouse can dually certify families as foster-to-adopt, so when a child becomes available to adopt, it lessens the length of time they have to wait.

Lighthouse supports children from infancy through late teens who are unable to live at home because of a variety of circumstances.

There is currently a shortage of adoptive parents coming forward for older children, who are likely to have additional needs or be part of sibling groups. Siblings share a unique bond. It is the longest lasting relationship most people have. Over the last two decades, research has demonstrated the critical nature of sibling bonds and their importance for children’s development and emotional well-being.

Contact Robyn Bastin, Lighthouse Foster Care & Adoption, (rbastin@lys.org or 513-487-7135) for more information or if you are interested in fostering or adopting.

National Adoption Day is a collective national effort to raise awareness of the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families. This annual, one-day event has made the dreams of thousands of children come true by working with policymakers, practitioners and advocates to finalize adoptions and create and celebrate adoptive families.