Adopting Foster Kids in Arizona Archives

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.

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

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