Keeping Siblings Together When You Adopt Foster Kids in Arizona 

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 ixcelbaca@buildingarizonafamilies.com. 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 

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 ixcelbaca@buildingarizonafamilies.com. 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/