24 Families in Jefferson County Will Celebrate the Joy-Filled Decision
to Welcome a Child into Their Homes
on National Adoption Day, November 17, 2007

30 Children Are Still Waiting To Find Their Permanent Family

Parenting is an immensely satisfying experience...involving smiles, giggles, lessons-learned, wisdom and most of all love. It takes commitment, persistence and sometimes a leap of faith. And, in Jefferson County, 24 families are planning to take that leap of faith by formalizing adoptions on National Adoption Day, November 17, at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

National Adoption Day is a time when courts, judges, attorneys, clerks, adoption professionals, child welfare agencies and advocates all come together to finalize adoptions and find permanent, loving homes for children in foster care.

"National Adoption Day brings awareness of the positive impact that adoption has on our society," said Judge Brian Boatright, who will be officiating some of the adoptions that day. "It's an incredible experience to participate in the adoption process. Each adopted child is a unique soul who brings new perspectives, talents and joy to the family unit."

The message that Judge Boatright and Jefferson County child welfare advocates really want to get out there is that 30 children in Jefferson County and over 750 throughout Colorado are still waiting to find permanent homes. "If you've been considering foster adoption as an option, now is the time to step up and support the kids in your own community," said Judge Boatright.

"This is a big commitment; but, it's an important one," said Wendy Strait. Wendy and her husband Steve are both on their second marriage and would like to add to their family through a local adoption. "It breaks my heart that life has gone terribly wrong for some of these children. We are going through this process because we know that we can provide a child with the loving home he or she deserves. It just took a simple phone call to Jefferson County to get the process started."

Families interested in more information on foster adoption may call 303/271-4043 or visit Jefferson County's Adoption Services Website at http://jeffco.us/hs/.

National Adoption Day is sponsored nationally by The Alliance for Children's Rights, Casey Family Services, Children's Action Network, Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Freddie Mac Foundation.

# # #

Adoption Quick Facts

· Nationwide, there are 114, 000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent homes.

· In Colorado, there are over 750 children waiting. And, in Jefferson County alone there are 30 in need of permanent homes.

· The majority of children needing permanent homes are between the ages of 8 and 18.

· 80% of the adoptive parents are married couples. 20% are single parents.

· The latest adoption trends include: 5% increase in single parent adoptions in the last 3 years in Jefferson County.

· Traits that Jefferson County is looking for in prospective foster adoption families include:

· Free services offered by Jefferson County for those considering local adoptions include an 8-week training class for potential adoptive parents.

· Local adoptions are fairly inexpensive compared with international adoptions. The average local adoption costs less then $300. The average international adoption costs $15,000.

· If you're considering adopting a child in foster care and would like more information, please call 303/271-4043 or visit Jefferson County's Adoption Services Website at http://jeffco.us/hs/.

# # #