An Illinois state representative is encouraging families to adopt a child. | Agung Pandit Wiguna/Pexels
An Illinois state representative is encouraging families to adopt a child. | Agung Pandit Wiguna/Pexels
Although National Adoption Month has come and gone, Illinois state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego) encourages families to keep adopting a child on their minds.
“National Adoption Awareness Month celebrates families who have grown through adoption and highlight the need for families for the thousands of youth in foster care," the legislator tweeted in November. "Learn about the benefits of adoption and how we can improve the lives of Illinois’ children this month!”
There are 17,920 children in foster care in Illinois with 3,347 of these children are waiting for adoptive families, according to the the nonprofit group AdoptUSKids.
Most children waiting to be adopted are temporarily living with relatives, foster families, or in group homes, according to Illinois.gov.
"Over the last decade, more than 15,000 children got the chance they deserve to love and be loved, and to reach their fullest potential thanks to families across our state that chose to adopt through DCFS," the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said on its website. "By providing a child with a loving and permanent home, adoptive families have discovered the unique joy of making a life-changing difference to a child. It is a feeling you can't get any other way."
Nationally, there are more than 400,000 children in foster care, AdoptUSKids said. The average age of a foster child is more than 8 years old, with slightly more boys than girls.
"Children and youth enter foster care because they have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parents or guardians," the organization said. "All of these children have experienced loss and some form of trauma. In other ways, foster children are no different from children who aren’t in foster care: they are learning and growing, like to play and hang out with friends their age, and need the love and stability a permanent home provides."
About 20,000 youth age out of the foster care system each year when they turn 18 or 21, or when they finish high school, AdoptUSKids said.
"These children are at increased risk of poor educational outcomes, experiencing homelessness, and being unemployed," the organization said.
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