It's National Foster Care Month for Kids Awaiting Adoption

It’s National Foster Care Month for Kids Awaiting Adoption

Posted on by Victoria Isaac

With approximately 117,000 kids awaiting adoption in the U.S. foster care system, it is always a good time to bring awareness to the need for loving forever families to open their hearts and homes and change the lives of these vulnerable children and teens.  This month is National Foster Care Month, and the theme is “Strengthening Minds.  Uplifting Families.”  This year’s theme aims to educate the public about taking a holistic approach to the mental and behavioral health of U.S. foster children.

After being traumatized by experiencing abuse and neglect, kids awaiting adoption face additional, unintended consequences while in the foster care system.  Foster children and teens move an average of three times a year, preventing the opportunity to build consistent, loving relationships with caregivers.  Moving often means changing schools, so they lose the support of caring teachers, the joy of friendships, and an estimated six months of academic progress for every school disruption.  With so much loss, it is understandable that up to 80% of children in foster care have significant mental health issues compared to approx. 18-22% of their peers (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019).

Undoubtedly, children and youth in foster care urgently need their mental health needs prioritized, including access to the necessary healthcare and addressing the need for stable, loving relationships.  For kids awaiting adoption in foster care, relational permanency is crucial to healing.  At Building Arizona Families, we believe one of the most important components for healing from complex trauma is a loving, stable family and safe home providing the sense of family, belonging, and identity that foster children and youth urgently need. 

Building Arizona Families offers convenient, informative online seminars if you live in Arizona and are interested in discovering more about U.S. kids awaiting adoption.  You can find the most current schedule and RSVP on our Facebook page HERE or reach out directly to Ixcel Baca, Forever Families program manager, for information. Call Ixcel at (623) 696-9537 or e-mail her at [email protected].  You can also find additional foster child adoption information HERE.

Thank you for considering opening your heart and home to a foster child who urgently needs the love and healing that your safe and loving home provides.  We look forward to serving you on your adoption journey!

Adopt Foster Children from Foster Care in Arizona or Around the U.S.

Adopt Foster Children from Foster Care in Arizona or Around the U.S.

Posted on by Victoria Isaac

There are over 3,000 children in foster care in Arizona alone that are legally eligible to be adopted right now. As heartbreaking as it is, these children’s biological parents no longer have parental rights. These children desperately need a family to offer them support, care, love, and, more importantly, a forever home. Married couples, families, and even single applicants can be eligible to adopt foster children who are eagerly waiting for a family. A foster child’s life is restored when they are welcomed into a safe, loving, and permanent home with their forever family.

Building Arizona Families Encourages Us to Adopt Arizona Foster Children

Are you wondering if you are eligible to adopt children from Arizona foster care? To adopt children from foster care in Arizona or around the U.S., applicants need to be living in Arizona and found legally eligible to adopt a child or teen in foster care. Applicants do not need to be foster care certified to adopt foster children in Arizona but certified to adopt through a home study. For approximately six months, a child will be welcomed into the adoptive home before being legally adopted. Learn more about the requirements to adopt Arizona foster children HERE.

The majority of foster children are five years of age or older. There are also sibling groups or children who have a higher level of need. All children in the foster system deserve to feel the stability and love of a forever family. Download our Adopting Foster Children Information Guide HERE.

We Need Men and Women to Make a Difference in the Lives of Children in Arizona and Around the United States

Foster children need reliable and safe adults to help turn their life away from loneliness, abuse, and/or neglect. Because of the circumstances children in foster care may experience daily, foster children struggle to form crucial bonds with safe and supportive adults. Becoming a forever parent to a foster child, who no longer has a family of their own, will fill them purpose and begin to instill trust and important values into their lives.

Building Arizona Families would be honored to walk with you on your journey to adopt foster children in Arizona. As a non-profit, licensed Arizona adoption agency, we have helped families with the adoption process since 2004. Please reach out to Ixcel Baca, Program Manager for the Forever Families foster adoption program at Building Arizona Families, by phone at 623-696-9537 and by e-mail [email protected]. Building Arizona Families also offers free adoption information seminars online, be sure to reach out to Ixcel for upcoming seminar dates and times!

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

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

Posted on 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/

Protecting Foster Children with American Adoptions

Protecting Foster Children with American Adoptions

Posted on by Victoria Isaac

Children and teens in foster care can get caught in a heartbreaking cycle of instability and loneliness. Moving from place to place an average of 3-4 times per year, sometimes with their earthly belongings carried in a plastic garbage bag, and growing increasingly emotionally shut down without stable, permanent relationships.  As foster children move from foster home to foster home, they usually have to move from school to school, increasing the likelihood of negative outcomes.

Thousands of children across the country experience the negative impacts of foster care if loving families don’t intervene through an American adoption of foster children. Over 13,000 children are living in foster care in Arizona right now. Children come into the foster care system as a result of being abused and/or neglected. Children in foster care whose parental rights are severed are truly orphans here in the United States. They need the opportunity to have a positive, loving family and a bright future like other American children. Building Arizona Families helps forever families open their arms to foster children in desperate need of loving and stable homes.

All Children in Foster Care Deserve a Loving, Stable, and Fruitful Life

Our recent adoption blog described the ways Building Arizona Families protects families and children during their adoption journey, read more HERE. Imagine a life living in roughly 28 different places by the time you were only 16 years old. Foster children move an average of at least three per year, and many begin this cycle by the time they are only five years old. Sadly, the injustices children in foster care have to endure is all too common. With too few permanent homes available and family connections typically severed, too many children in foster care face the unfortunate reality of aging out of the system at the age of 18. At that point, the list of risks significantly increase.

Instead of allowing these American children to languish year after year in foster care, we can help! Families or single applicants in Arizona can determine their eligibility for an American adoption and give a vulnerable foster child the life they deserve. At Building Arizona Families, we help single applicants, couples, or families change the future of foster children with our Forever Families U.S adoption program. Every child needs love in their heart and deserves parents who care about their well-being throughout their life. Adopting foster children through an American adoption at Building Arizona Families truly saves a child’s life from further harm and provides the bright future they deserve.

Building Arizona Families Serves Children in Foster Care Through American Adoptions

We Are Their Future invites you to consider adopting an American foster child. Remember, contrary to what many people believe, you do not have to be a foster parent first to adopt American foster children. We will help you walk through the direct adoption of children in the U.S. foster care system. Download the Building Arizona Families 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://www.childrensrights.org/our-kids/who-were-fighting-for/

How To Save A Child’s Life During National Child Abuse Prevention Month

How To Save A Child’s Life During National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Posted on by Victoria Isaac

There are thousands of Arizona children in desperate need of love and support. Through no fault of their own, they have experienced heartbreaking abuse and/or neglect. No child should ever have to endure the pain and sadness of being abused by the person who is supposed to love and care for them. Foster to adopt in AZ gives these children a chance at life and a forever family to love them always.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month raises public awareness during April to increase the efforts and resources necessary to protect children from abuse. Awareness regarding how to help protect and nurture vulnerable children in our own communities can truly save a child’s life.

Why They Need Heroes Now

In January 2019, it was reported that over 14,500 children are in the Arizona foster care system. The majority of these children are victims of gross negligence, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or trafficking. Sadly, this maltreatment usually occurs through the hand of someone they know. Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse can cause severe pain, delayed development, and significant behavioral issues.

Once these abused and/or neglected children are taken into state care, it does not mean their troubles are over. In 2017, it was reported that at the national level, 75% of children in foster care are neglected, 18% are physically abused, and 7% are sexually abused.

This is horrific and does not even take into consideration that the average foster child will move from where they live 4-5 times, and change schools at least once a year. It is no wonder that they are more at risk for teen pregnancy, homelessness, PTSD, and poor educational outcomes.

This is happening in our neighborhoods, right now. It’s why children in Arizona need you now. They need heroes to save them from the bleak outcomes they can expect if they stay in the foster care system. Foster children all over Arizona and from around the country are hoping for a loving and caring adult to rescue them and welcome them into a forever family.

How To Be The Answer to A Foster Child’s Prayer

Children who experience abuse and/or neglect need support and love from a caring adult that understands the consequences of their trauma. A child needs to feel safe and needs to feel supported in expressing and managing their intense emotions. Traumatic events can cause a child not to have the ability to cope and have appropriate physical and emotional responses. By helping them, or providing the help they need, children can begin to heal, to develop loving, trusting relationships, and to experience bright futures.

No Need to Foster to Adopt AZ Foster Children

Every Arizona citizen can help make sure every child can grow up in a healthy and stable environment. Building Arizona Families does direct adoption placements for Arizona families. The adoptive family does not need to be foster care certified. Instead, the adoptive family is certified to adopt through a home study. A child, from Arizona or from around the country, can come to live in your home and after six months your family can legally adopt.

Adopting a child out of the foster care system is less expensive than private adoption. The adoption process also moves more quickly.

Can You Be the Answer to a Foster Child’s Prayer?

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. We will help you walk through the direct adoption of children in the foster care system.

You will be blessed by having a precious child to love, and you will change the life of a foster child forever. If you would like more information on the foster child adoption process, find out more 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].

It is our responsibility to save the lives of thousands of children in foster care, and we can do this with the foster to adopt in AZ program at Building Arizona families, find out more HERE.

 

April Is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. (2019, April). Retrieved from https://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewArticles&issueid=205&sectionid=1&articleid=5301

Arizona’s Foster Children. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.arizonansforchildren.org/page/arizonas-foster-children

National Child Abuse Prevention Month Strong and Thriving Families 2019. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/preventionmonth/resources/resource-guide/
Chapter 4: Protecting Children