Adopt Foster Kids Archives - We Are Their Future

Qualify to Adopt Foster Children in Arizona

Posted on October 26, 2021October 26, 2021 by Victoria Isaac

You Might Qualify to Adopt Foster Children in Arizona

Did you know that there are foster children throughout Arizona who can’t return home, have had their parental rights severed as a result of unmitigated life threatening abuse and neglect, and are hoping that someone will open their heart and home to them? They want forever families. They want to be adopted. If this moves your heart, you might be surprised at who can qualify to adopt foster children in Arizona and throughout the United States.

Wesson is Waiting

Meet Wesson! If you want to adopt foster children in Arizona, Wesson is hoping and praying for a forever family! He is active, adventurous, polite and fun to be around. Wesson loves music and is currently taking guitar lessons through All Kids Need Music, and has even written a few songs! You can find out more about Wesson HERE. And, if you believe you can open your heart and home to Wesson, please reach out to Ixcel Baca, the Forever Families program manager at Building Arizona Families.

Criteria to Adopt Foster Children

To adopt foster children, you have to pass a home inspection, but that doesn’t mean you have to own your own home. Home can be an apartment. You have to be financially stable, but you don’t have to be wealthy. The process to adopt foster children is the least expensive of all types of adoption.

You need to provide a loving family environment, but you don’t have to be married. Single parents are welcome to adopt foster children in Arizona and throughout the United States.

To adopt foster children through Building Arizona Families, you need to be residents of Arizona. The foster children do not have to be residents of Arizona, and Building Arizona Families will work with you to adopt a foster child or foster children that best suit your family.

If You Adopt Foster Children, You Change a Child’s Future

Foster children whose parental rights are severed and are unable to be reunited with family are truly orphans. They are cared for by state child protective agencies and primarily live in group homes. On average, they move three times a year, which often means changing schools, losing trusting relationships, friends and encouraging teachers. Over time, these vulnerable children lose down emotionally, and do not want to continue to make caring relationships only to love them. They also fall behind in school because of the frequency of moving, and in many instances get discouraged and quit trying. If they are not adopted out of the foster care system, the outcomes are even worse. Children who were abuse and neglected now find themselves facing the world alone as young adults without the support they need to successfully navigate life. If no one steps up to adopt foster children and they age out of the system, most do not attend college. Many wind up homeless and addicted.

The story changes dramatically when they are adopted. Being welcomed into a loving family and stable living environment helps them heal emotionally. They often improve rapidly in school, and their outlook on their future becomes much brighter.

Can You Change a Child’s Future?

Find out if you can adopt foster children in Arizona and throughout the U.S. We invite you to attend an informative online seminar about adopting foster children. You can go to the Events tab on our Facebook page to view upcoming seminars and RSVP for the one that best meets your needs. Go here to view the schedule.

You can go to our Forever Families page on the website to learn more. You are also welcome to reach out with your questions at any time. Just go to our Contact Us page for who to reach out to, and ways to reach out.

Over 275 Teens Exited Foster Care Without an Adoption in Arizona

Posted on February 10, 2021March 10, 2021 by Victoria Isaac

In 2020, 276 teenagers in foster care never received the wonderful news that a forever family is adopting them and giving them a life full of love, hope, safety, and support. These children now have to experience life without a loving family by their side and a stable foundation for their future. Without a support system, little money, and sometimes even food and water, these 276 children face very tough times ahead of them. Adopting Arizona foster children can change the course of a child’s life forever. Young adults need proper guidance, care, and support to flourish into thriving adults. Sadly, the 276 young adults who aged out of the foster care system were not able to develop into adulthood with a forever family through an Arizona adoption. Will you partner with us to find loving and safe homes for foster teenagers in need?

Building Arizona Families understands how difficult life can be for foster children when they are not adopted by a family that can offer them love and hope. Foster children face a life of loneliness, sadness, and a longing need to feel loved. Every child deserves to feel joy and happiness with a family who loves and cares for them. Are you ready to open your heart and home to a deserving teenager in need for 2021? 2020 was hard enough for everyone, but we can make 2021 a great year for children in foster care with your help!

Providing Foster Children a Forever Home can Save Them from a Transient Lifestyle

When children are not adopted out of foster care and eventually age out of the system, these youths find themselves dealing with far more than they should ever have to endure. Teens aging out of the foster care system are much more likely to live a life of crime, drugs, poor living conditions, and without solid role models to follow. When people open their hearts and their homes and adopt Arizona Foster children, lives are greatly changed. Suddenly, a child who may have moved multiple times a year, been without friends or family in foster care, and wishing for a safe and loving home now has a solid foundation to grow. Learning from a responsible, caring, and loving adult can forever change a foster child’s life by teaching them something they may have never experienced before.

If you are considering Arizona adoption, please consider providing a well-needed home to a child waiting for their forever family in foster care. Building Arizona Families, our Arizona adoption agency, has a special program to help Arizona families adopt a foster child in Arizona or the United States. To learn more about our Forever Families Foster Adoption Program, please visit us HERE for more details.

Building Arizona Families Serves Children in Foster Care Through Arizona Adoption

We Are Their Future and Building Arizona Families invites you to consider adopting Arizona foster children. Right now, in the state of Arizona, over 2,800 children are legally free for adoption in foster care. These children’s parents had their rights severed and no longer can reunify with their families. Are you able to provide a loving and safe home for even just one of these children in foster care?

2,867 kids in foster care need our help to have a brighter and happier future! Contrary to what many people believe, you do not have to become foster certified before adopting Arizona foster children. We will help you walk through the direct adoption of children in the foster care system and support you every step of the way during your adoption journey. To begin your foster adoption journey or learn more about our foster adoption program, please download our foster child adoption info kit HERE.

We also invite you to attend one of our informative adoption seminars. You can reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Coordinator, directly and ask any questions you might have. Ixcel would love to hear from you! You can reach Ixcel at (623) 696-9537 or by e-mailing her at [email protected]. Learn more about the Forever Families program Building Arizona Families offers to adopt foster children HERE. You can change the life of a foster child forever!

Source –

https://dcs.az.gov/news-reports/dcs-reports

Keeping Siblings Together When You Adopt Foster Kids in Arizona

Posted on January 10, 2021March 10, 2021 by Victoria Isaac

Adopting foster kids in Arizona is an urgent matter. These children have been the victims of child abuse and/or severe neglect. When the issues that created the abuse have not been remedied and the children cannot safely be returned home, their biological parents’ rights are severed. When this happens, these abused children enter the care of the Arizona Department of Child Safety. They are placed in foster care – sometimes in emergency shelters, sometimes in foster homes, and sometimes in group homes, depending upon the situation and the availability. They move an average of 4-5 times per year from foster home to foster home, ending any attachment with the foster parents, often changing schools, and sometimes living with other foster children who have suffered the same fate. This harsh reality creates uncertainty in academic success and the pain of loneliness and rejection that no child should have to bear.

If there is a tug on your heart for hurting foster children, please consider opening your heart and home to adopt foster kids in Arizona. Every child removed from his or her family deserves more out of life than the suffering they have endured and the insecurity and loneliness they are currently experiencing. Imagine the pain each one of these children experiences from the loss of their own family, separation from the only life they have known, and sometimes not even having the opportunity to see their siblings often. Building Arizona Families encourages any family who wants to change a hurting child’s life to adopt foster kids in Arizona and bring love, joy, and peace into a child’s life.

Adopting Sibling Groups From Foster Care Keeps Them Stronger Together

Whenever possible when adopting foster kids, keeping siblings together is very important for their physical and emotional health and development. When a child is removed from their home for abuse and/or neglect, the trauma a child experiences is deep. To be split up from siblings and facing unknown circumstances alone is unbearable. The need is urgent, and the stories of families who are truly heroes are so heartwarming. One couple in Kansas wanted to make sure this wouldn’t happen to a sibling group so they adopted seven children and gave them a true family complete with their very own brothers and sisters!

Emerson, Autumn, Jaxon, Journey, Jace, Piper, and Sawyer grew up abused and neglected. They were removed from their home and entered the Kansas foster care system. Lisa and Gary couldn’t bear the idea of them suffering further, so they offered a safe and loving home to all seven siblings. In 2019, wearing all matching sports jerseys, the children were legally adopted and became a forever family. Before the adoption, it took over a year to get all the siblings together in one home after being separated in foster care. Lisa, the adoptive mother, could not see these children lose each other after everything they had already suffered.

When foster kids are adopted in Arizona or around the United States, sadly it is difficult to keep siblings together. Megan Prothe, a licensed adoption permanency specialist, stated, “It can be challenging in adoption to keep siblings together, but to do so makes a profound difference for children.” And that is what Lisa and Gary did when making the selfless decision of opening their home to seven foster kids in great need. Now they can share their lives together with their new forever family.

Are you Ready to Adopt Foster Kids in Arizona? Can You Open Your Heart and Home to a Hurting Child or Sibling Group in Desperate Need of Love and Stability?

Building Arizona Families invites you to consider adopting foster kids in Arizona and around the United States. Our licensed Arizona adoption agency serves Arizona families, and they are eligible to adopt a foster child from anywhere in the United States. Remember, contrary to what many people believe, you do not have to become foster parents before adopting foster children. We will help you walk through the direct adoption of children in the foster care system. Download our foster child adoption info kit HERE. Learn more about We Are Their Future and helping foster children in Arizona and around the United States, please visit us HERE to learn more ways to help foster children.

If you are interested in adopting Arizona foster kids, or foster children from anywhere in the U.S., we can invite you to attend one of our informative adoption seminars. You can also reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Coordinator, directly and ask any questions you might have about our licensed adoption agency in Arizona. Ixcel would love to hear from you! You can reach Ixcel at (623) 696-9537 or by e-mailing her at [email protected]. Learn more about the Forever Families program Building Arizona Families offers to adopt foster children HERE. You can change the life of a foster child forever!

Source –

https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/couple-adopts-7-siblings-together-they-didnt-need-to-lose-each-other

https://dcs.az.gov/news-reports/dcs-reports

Foster to Adopt AZ Foster Children to Protect Them from the Rise of Abuse

Posted on December 10, 2020March 10, 2021 by Victoria Isaac

The COVID-19 lockdown has not only changed the daily lives of people around the world but has also made home life much more dangerous for many children in at-risk family settings. During times of heightened stress like we are experiencing now, child abuse and domestic violence cases begin to drastically increase, and children in the foster care system are especially vulnerable. Since the coronavirus pandemic, schools have shut down, and foster children do not have regular contact with people and teachers like they once did. The checks and balances of extra vigilance from other people are now unavailable.

Loving Arizona families can adopt foster children from anywhere in the United States. The lives of foster children are always difficult, but they are especially difficult right now. Did you know that at any given time in our country, there are almost half a million children in foster care? Can you open your heart and home to provide a loving, safe, and stable home for foster children around the U.S.? And keep in mind that you do not have to foster to adopt AZ children or foster children anywhere else in the country. You can directly adopt children from the foster care system without becoming a foster parent first.

At Risk Children are Facing More Dangerous Circumstances Due to the Pandemic

The spike in domestic violence as a result of the increased stress from the pandemic has resulted in increases in child abuse and neglect. When America was required to stay home to stay safe, this was not the case for the thousands of U.S. children who fall victim to abuse and neglect behind closed doors.

At risk children who show up to school with bruises, poor hygiene, poor nutrition, and unhealthy psychosocial behaviors are usually monitored through daily interactions with teachers, school staff, and school program leaders. Teachers were able to keep an eye out for these children and are mandated reporters when abuse or neglect is a concern. But now, with the majority of schools shifting to an online format, these children are no longer being watched over to ensure their safety at home. At risk children could also rely on receiving meals during the school day, and without these meals, they may not be given the proper nutrition in their homes. Workers and volunteers are working diligently to keep the at risk children they are aware of protected and safe, but sadly this is an unrealistic expectation without a network of people watching out for these vulnerable children. This means that it could take something drastic for professionals to be alerted to the abuse and neglect occurring in at risk homes around the U.S. For the hundreds of thousands of children already in foster care as a result of abuse and neglect, Building Arizona Families provides Arizona families the path to direct adoption of foster children from around the country, without the need to foster to adopt in Arizona.

No Need to Foster to Adopt AZ Children – Direct Adoption is Possible

Contrary to what many people believe, you do not have to foster to adopt foster children. We will help you walk through the direct adoption of children in the foster care system. Download our foster child adoption info kit HERE.

We can work together to help innocent children heal from abuse, neglect, loneliness, fear, and sadness. Direct adoption of a foster child is less expensive than private adoption. The states these children reside in will help facilitate the adoption of foster children whose parental rights are severed because they recognize the urgent need for children to grow up in loving families. Visit us HERE. We can help you begin your adoption journey and offer a child in great need a life full of love and safety. You can also help foster children in Arizona in many other ways, please visit us HERE to learn about more ways to help.

Building Arizona Families Encourages Us To Change A Child’s Life Forever

Almost half a million children around the United States are waiting every day for someone to adopt them and change the life they are living. Will you be the one to change their story and adopt foster children? Learn more about the Forever Families program Building Arizona Families offers to foster to adopt AZ foster children, and anywhere around the U.S. HERE. You can be the change they are praying for!

We also invite you to attend one of our informative adoption seminars. You can reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Coordinator directly and ask any questions you might have. Ixcel would love to hear from you! You can reach Ixcel at (623) 696-9537 or by e-mailing her at [email protected].

Source –

https://www.kmvt.com/2020/06/30/casa-program-sees-rise-in-child-abuse-during-covid-19-pandemic/

Adopt Foster Kids in Arizona Facing Aging Out During the Pandemic

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Victoria Isaac

Aging out of the foster care system without ever being adopted is just heartbreaking. As the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted families willing to open their hearts and homes, the numbers are rising. When a teenager ages out of the foster care system, their chances of homelessness, drug use, pregnancy, and incarceration rise significantly. In the current pandemic, when these teenagers face the world alone, they face a massive drop in available jobs, an unsure education system, and assistance programs that are becoming inundated. To protect them from facing the harsh realities of being alone in the world, we encourage Arizona families to adopt foster kids in Arizona and around the United States.

Teenagers in Foster Care are Facing Frightening Times Now More Than Ever

A teenager that is reaching the age of 18 begins to think of their life after foster care. Where will they live? Where will they get their next meal? How will they maintain a job? There is an endless list of questions that run through a teen’s mind when facing the end of foster care. But due to recent societal concerns, aging out of the foster care system has become an even more frightening experience.

Foster children in Arizona and around the United States face heart-breaking living conditions once they turn 18 and legally become an adult. Building Arizona Families, our local Arizona adoption agency, advocates for Arizona families to adopt foster kids in Arizona or anywhere around the United States to give a teenager the loving home and consistent relationships that they have hoped for. This is a chance Bianca Bennett would have been forever thankful for if she were given an opportunity to grow up with a forever family instead of aging out.

Bianca Bennett entered the foster care system in New York when she was only two years old. Bianca reentered foster care at the age of 13 and eventually aged out of the foster care system. Like many adults who age out of the system, Bianca spent months sleeping on different people’s couches. Because of the pandemic, Bianca now faced even more unusual times. She was able to move to Florida to attend college, but the coronavirus shut down caused her to no longer have a dorm to reside in. Bianca eventually had to move back to New York and does not know what her future looks like.

So many foster youths are facing these same unfortunate experiences as Bianca. One national poll found that 25% of foster youth at the critical aging out phase are experiencing food insecurity, 40% are being forced to move, and 33% only have enough money to cover living costs for a week or less. We can help these youths in foster care! Through our Forever Families U.S. Foster Adoption Program, we can assist Arizona families who want to adopt foster kids in Arizona or around the U.S. Building Arizona Families encourages any family who is wanting to grow to consider blessing a kid’s life forever and adopt foster teens. Learn more about the Forever Families U.S. Foster Adoption Program, HERE.

You Can Adopt Foster Kids in Arizona and Change Lives Forever

Building Arizona Families is a local, non-profit, Arizona adoption agency that is accredited and licensed. Arizona families can adopt foster children in Arizona and around the United States. Foster children are in desperate need of loving homes, now more than ever. Shortages of foster homes and a rise in the number of foster licenses not being renewed are causing foster children to live in emergency shelters, a place no child should ever have to live. Today about 14,000 foster kids in Arizona are waiting for a family to welcome them home and give them a fresh start. But less than 4,000 foster homes are waiting for them.

Building Arizona Families invites you to consider adopting a foster child in Arizona or anywhere else in the U.S. Remember, contrary to what many people believe, and you do not have to be licensed foster care providers before adopting Arizona foster children. Download our foster child adoption info kit HERE.

We also invite you to attend one of our informative adoption seminars. You can reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Coordinator, directly and ask any questions you might have. Ixcel would love to hear from you! You can reach Ixcel at (623) 696-9537 or by e-mailing her at [email protected]. Learn more about the Forever Families program Building Arizona Families offers to adopt foster children HERE. You can change the life of a foster child forever!

Sources –

https://dcs.az.gov/news-reports/dcs-reports

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/what-happens-when-you-age-out-of-foster-care-during-a-global-pandemic/

The Need for Adopting Foster Kids in Arizona is Urgent!

Posted on May 7, 2020August 7, 2020 by Victoria Isaac

Arizona State University recently studied the negative effects that living in foster care have on foster children and how adopting foster kids in Arizona can completely change a child’s life. Children in foster care offered their input on what is essential for children when living in foster care. One foster child shared:

“I guess I just don’t know where I’ll be when I turn 18 though or what I need to go do. I’m not like the other kids in school who know what they’re doing. I need more help.”

There is a lot to be learned about what foster children need. Listening to children in foster care sheds light on how foster care negatively impacts them. Children are in foster care through no fault of their own. Foster children are removed from their biological homes as a result of abuse and/or neglect that endangers their well-being. Innocent, abused children enter foster care with significant trauma. Their social, emotional, and physical well-being are fragile. Adoptive families are urgently needed to support and love these children, to give them the stability and future that they need by adopting foster kids in Arizona or anywhere in the United States.

Adopting Arizona Foster Kids in Arizona Provides the Support and Stability Youths Need

Children in foster care long to be normal, to be like other children. Here is a comment about the need for normalcy:

“Having something simple like the food I like to eat at home would go a long way. Not every kid likes the same stuff… It would be nice if I could have friends over to the house like other kids or go to the mall. I can’t even have a cell phone.”

Youth in foster care are acutely aware that they are “different”. They don’t have the same support, privileges, or opportunities that most teenagers enjoy. Teenage foster children can typically keep all of their worldly possessions in one suitcase and are often afraid that their meager belongings will be stolen by other foster children. They give up on becoming attached to caregivers, as they move an average of 2-3 times per year. The same is true of friends, as they often are forced to change schools, making academic success extremely difficult.

One foster child expressed the need for positive, loving support this way:

“I know I’m doing well when adults tell me I’m doing good. If I do something as simple as my chore, I need to hear, like, ’good job’ or when I bring my grades home, and I have good grades, ’good job.’”

It’s not just teenagers that need forever families, but many teenagers “age out” of the foster care system without ever being adopted. They enter adulthood without the tools they need to succeed as adults. These vulnerable teenagers just want to be unconditionally loved and have the opportunity to succeed. The need is urgent. Please consider adopting foster kids in Arizona or from any other state in the US.

Contrary to what many people believe, you do not have to be a licensed foster care provider before adopting Arizona foster kids or foster children from other states. You must reside in Arizona to adopt foster children through Building Arizona Families. We are a licensed Arizona adoption agency that can help you adopt foster children from around the United States.

To adopt a foster child you do need to successfully complete a home study. Once you meet the general adoption requirements (find out more HERE) and a home study is successfully completed, you are eligible to adopt a foster child. Learn more about home study costs and process HERE.

The Forever Families U.S. Adoption Program at Building Arizona Families

The Forever Families U.S. Adoption Program is a life-changing program at Building Arizona Families that connects adoptive families to foster kids in Arizona and from around the U.S. Through a direct adoption placement, prospective adoptive families become able to adopt without becoming licensed to foster children first. Building Arizona Families believes in transparency. Please visit our website to download the foster child adoption info kit HERE.

Building Arizona Families Has Been Helping Families Since 2004

Building Arizona Families would be honored to walk with you on your journey to adopt foster kids in Arizona and from around the U.S. As a non-profit, licensed Arizona adoption agency, we have been helping families adopt precious foster children since 2004.

Loving, forever families are urgently needed. Contact us so that you can help a foster child’s adoption dreams come true! Reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Manager for the Forever Families foster child adoption program at Building Arizona Families by phone at 623-696-9537 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Building Arizona Families also offers free adoption information seminars in Phoenix, as well as online. Be sure to reach out to Ixcel for seminar dates and times. Download our foster child adoption info kit HERE.

Source –

https://childwellbeing.asu.edu/youthwellbeing

Now More Than Ever Adopt Foster Kids in Arizona – It’s Essential

Posted on March 5, 2020August 7, 2020 by Victoria Isaac

The world can be hard enough for kids living in foster care who experience abandonment, loneliness, pain, and sadness. But imagine what happens when life is turned upside down for society, and foster children do not have a forever family to keep them safe and protected. When society faces issues like the current COVID-19 outbreak and quarantine, we ask adoptive families to adopt foster kids in Arizona – it is vital to their safety. Without forever families to love and care for foster kids, too many children may share common spaces and individual health may not be able to be prioritized. Will you consider the urgent need to adopt foster kids in Arizona to ensure that they have a safe, healthy, and loving family?

Nurture, Compassion, and Humor can Change a Foster Kid’s Life Forever

Adoptive parents will act in the best interest of their child, providing consistency and stability. Over 15,000 foster kids in Arizona alone need a safe and permanent home right now. Adopting foster kids in Arizona prevents vulnerable children from hopping from foster house to foster house, many moving 3-6 times a year, changing caregivers, schools, and friends. The permanent protection of a new family is everything foster kids hope and pray for.

A home full of patience, nurturing, compassion, and humor can significantly change the world of a kid who grew up in foster care. For maybe the first time ever, they will experience feeling safe, being unconditionally loved, and being fully provided for. Building Arizona Families facilitates families’ adoption of foster kids in Arizona and from around the U.S. The forever family must be Arizona residents who are willing to open their hearts and homes to provide a promising, bright future foster children didn’t think they would ever have. The statistics about foster children who are never adopted and age out of the system and move into adulthood alone are bleak. A new family will provide the environment to build healthy relationships. Adding a fun sense of humor to family life also trains foster children to manage stressful times and appropriately express feelings, as well as learning to laugh and have fun together as children should.

Building Arizona Families is still working hard to provide forever homes for foster children in need of a permanent family. Visit us HERE to learn more about adopting foster kids in Arizona, and throughout the U.S., as well as other programs our local Arizona adoption agency offers. All children deserve to live a beautiful and happy life, and adopting foster kids in Arizona can provide them with the home they dream of.

Building Arizona Families Wants to Find as Many Forever Families to Adopt Foster Kids in Arizona

If you are an Arizona resident, Building Arizona Families invites you to consider adopting foster children in Arizona and from throughout the U.S who are hoping and praying for forever families. Remember, contrary to what many people believe, you do not have to be a foster family before adopting foster children. We will help you walk through the direct adoption of children in the foster care system. Download our foster child adoption info kit HERE.

We also invite you to attend one of our informative adoption seminars. You can reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Coordinator, directly and ask any questions you might have. Ixcel would love to hear from you! You can reach Ixcel at (623) 696-9537 or by e-mailing her at [email protected]. Learn more about the Forever Families program Building Arizona Families offers to adopt foster children HERE. You can change the life of a foster child forever!

Sources –

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/f_fospar.pdf

https://dcs.az.gov/national-foster-care-month-faqs

Celebrity Advocates Bring Attention on Foster to Adopt in AZ

Posted on July 31, 2019August 9, 2019 by Victoria Isaac

What was the last thing you saw a celebrity advocate for in the media? There are many organizations, charities, and awareness movements that celebrities support. Foster care may have not previously had the attention it deserved, but recently, celebrities are taking a stand for children in foster care. The decline of foster families in Arizona is creating bed shortages for kids and teens. There is more to the story, however. These children deserve more than a foster family; they deserve a loving forever family and a healthy and happy home. Many people are unaware that the foster to adopt Arizona children process is unnecessary. Arizona’s foster children whose parental rights are severed can be directly adopted without the need to be a licensed foster family first. Hopefully, with celebrity awareness and the education around the cause, more foster kids can begin to find solace with a loving family in a forever home.

Raising Awareness in The Media Can Begin To Change Foster Kid’s Lives

The media can be very influential and raise awareness for important topics, like the hardships foster kids experience in the foster care system. Organizations are launching educational campaigns to find forever homes for children and to bring to light the harsh realities of what happens when a foster child ages out of the system without ever being adopted. Research illustrates that these children are at a much greater risk for homelessness, incarceration, drug abuse, mental illness and unemployment.

Ellen DeGeneres, a talk show host, recently brought awareness to the challenges of foster care and adopting foster children. Several families were featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about their journeys of adopting foster kids. They spoke of the beauty of their adoptions and encouraged other families to provide a safe and healthy forever home for children who have already suffered so much.

Celebrities That Struggled In Foster Care Now Advocate For Foster Kids

Celebrities come from all walks of life and many have struggled through the foster care system, just like the 13,400 foster kids in the Arizona foster care system today. Actors and athletes are raising awareness about the need for adoption for foster kids of all ages. Alex Smith, Kurt Warner, Tony Goldwin, and Ellen DeGeneres are some of the actors and athletes lending their voices to the cause. Dorian Green-Beckham, Tennessee Titans wide receiver, has opened up about his experience aging out of the foster care system. He speaks of the struggles of growing up without support and love and how he was not ready to face the world alone at the age of 18. The testaments from former foster kids can show how crucial adoption is for vulnerable children. Fostering children is a wonderful gift to a child and many foster families move from foster to adopt AZ children. However it is not necessary – children can be adopted without fostering them first through the home study process. Adoption is beautiful – it transforms a frightened, lonely child into a secure, loving family member.

Building Arizona Families Encourages Families To Adopt Foster Children

Building Arizona Families invites you to consider adopting a foster child. Remember, contrary to what many people believe, you do not have to foster to adopt AZ foster children. Also,if you live in Arizona, you can adopt a foster child from any state in the U.S. We will help you walk through the direct adoption of children in the foster care system. If you would like more information on the foster child adoption process, find out more HERE.

We also invite you to attend an informative adoption seminars. You can reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Coordinator, directly and ask any questions you might have. Ixcel would love to hear from you! You can reach Ixcel at (623) 696-9537 or by e-mailing her at [email protected].

As good citizens and neighbors, let’s work together to transform the lives of hundreds thousands of vulnerable children in foster care. Download a free info kit to find out more about adopting a vulnerable child in foster care HERE.

Sources:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-child-welfare/2019/07/02/arizona-foster-care-system-unusual-shortage-beds-little-kids/1590149001/

http://www.arizonansforchildren.org/page/arizonas-foster-children

https://www.kvc.org/blog/actors-athletes-raise-awareness-of-youth-aging-out-of-foster-care

Building Arizona Families Encourages Us to Adopt Foster Children

Posted on May 23, 2019May 23, 2019 by Victoria Isaac

Children enter foster care through no fault of their own because of abuse and/or neglect. They need your help! Building Arizona Families is privileged to help Arizona families seeking to adopt foster children throughout the United States. Our mission is to find adoptive homes for as many children in foster care as we possibly can. Loving forever families provide a beautiful life for a child in need through adopting foster children. Every child needs a home full of love, warmth, and support. Blessing a vulnerable foster child with a safe home and loving family can inspire others to do the same.

Each year, over 20,000 children in foster care age out of the system without a permanent family. After leaving foster care at 18 years old, these children continue to face abuse and neglect in their lives. Families are stepping up and changing some of these children’s lives every day, and we need more families just like them to adopt foster children and give them a brighter future full of love and opportunity.

Building Arizona Families is Changing Lives

There are many beautiful adoption stories Building Arizona Families can share. Arizona families are brought closer together by choosing to open their lives to adopt foster children. Jessica and Chris were one of these families to step up for a foster child desperately wishing for a safe, loving forever family. They welcomed Raiden lovingly into their home and gave him the security and identity of a loving family that he had never known before. This selfless decision changed the course of Raiden’s life. He will grow up secure in the love of family, which will launch him into a bright future. Watch Raiden’s story HERE.

Children in the foster care system are just children – they haven’t done anything wrong. They desperately want love, acceptance, and to be treated like they matter. They don’t want to move from place to place with their belongings in a garbage bag. They don’t want to have to keep switching schools. They want bicycles, pets, and to get to go to a ball game or the movies. They want to be treated like children who have families that love them. With close to 500,000 children still in foster care in the United States, the need is urgent. Building Arizona Families wants to find as many of these children forever homes before they age out and no longer have the chance.

Foster Children Are Just Children Wanting Love and Acceptance

Almost half a million children are waiting every day for someone to adopt them and change the life they are living. Will you be the one to change their story and adopt foster children? Learn more about the forever families program Building Arizona Families offers to adopt foster children HERE. You can change the life of a foster child forever!

Building Arizona Families invites you to consider adopting a foster child. Remember, contrary to what many people believe, you do not have to foster to adopt foster children. We will help you walk through the direct adoption of children in the foster care system. Download our foster child adoption info kit HERE.

We also invite you to attend one of our informative adoption seminars. You can reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Coordinator, directly and ask any questions you might have. Ixcel would love to hear from you! You can reach Ixcel at (623) 696-9537 or by e-mailing her at [email protected].

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Interested in Adopting a Foster Child? Here’s Arizona Child Adoption Process Info

Posted on January 17, 2019January 17, 2019 by Victoria Isaac

Arizona child adoption process, adopt foster children in Arizona, foster to adopt AZ

If you live in Arizona and are considering adoption, there is some important information you should know about the Arizona child adoption process. Families residing in Arizona are eligible to adopt foster children in Arizona, as well as any other state in the U.S. At any given time in Arizona, there are at least 3,000 children whose parental rights have been severed who are immediately available for adoption. And that is just Arizona! There are foster children of all ages and races, as well as sibling groups and teenagers that are harder to find forever families for. You can search through a national database of foster children who are hoping and praying for forever families HERE.

You Can Foster to Adopt AZ Children But You Don’t Have To!

Many families who want to adopt foster children in Arizona think that they must become licensed foster care families before adopting a foster child. This is not true, and foster children whose parental rights have been severed can be directly adopted. The foster to adopt AZ children process can be helpful from an educational perspective, but fostering a child does not necessarily ensure that you will be able to adopt that child.

Most Cost Effective Program is to Adopt Foster Children in Arizona & Other States

If the costs of adoption are a concern, you will be pleased to know that adopting a foster child is the least expensive type of adoption in the United States. Building Arizona Families’ foster child adoption program is called the Forever Families U.S. Adoption Program. To be eligible to adopt foster children through Building Arizona Families, a family must reside in the state of Arizona. Arizona residents are eligible to adopt foster children in Arizona or any other state in the U.S. The Forever Families U.S. Adoption Program fee is only $3,500. There is an additional $1,100 cost for the home study required by the state of Arizona to certify that the home environment is a safe one. For more information about the Arizona child adoption process including children available, the adoption fee schedule, and time frames, go HERE.

Qualifications Required for the Successful Arizona Child Adoption Process

You might be surprised to know that you don’t have to be married or own your own home to adopt a foster child in Arizona. You must be 21 years of age or older, be morally fit, be physically and mentally healthy, be financially stable, and pass a background test including no court action regarding previous child abuse. Other states may vary in their individual requirements. Please download our complimentary information kit HERE.

Begin the Process to Adopt Foster Children in Arizona

The foster to adopt AZ process is different than the direct adoption of foster children. In either case, however, the State of Arizona requires families to pass a home study that certifies the home environment as a safe one. Do remember that you are not required to foster to adopt AZ foster children – it is your personal preference. The Arizona Department of Child Safety contracts with individual licensing agencies, of which Building Arizona Families is a provider. Go HERE to find out more about the home study process.

Building Arizona Families would be honored to walk with you on your adoption journey. As a non-profit, licensed Arizona adoption agency, we have been helping families with the Arizona child adoption process as well as around the country since 2004. Please contact us so that we can help your adoption dreams come true! You can reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Manager for the Forever Families foster child adoption program at Building Arizona Families by phone at 623-696-9537 and by e-mail at [email protected]. Building Arizona Families also offers free adoption information seminars in Phoenix, as well as online. Be sure to reach out to Ixcel for seminar dates and times.