More Canadians Seriously Consider Adopting Children in Foster Care

Specifically, 2 out of 3 considering adopting for first time take a serious look at foster care adoption



(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – More than 30,000 children are waiting to be adopted from foster care in Canada. Unfortunately, many of them will grow up and leave the foster care system without being adopted.

But a new national survey is offering those children new hope. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption commissioned the survey, which found that among Canadians looking to adopt for the first time, more than half are considering foster care adoption and more than two thirds of that group say they are seriously considering adopting children in foster care. That number represents an impressive jump from five years ago and a continued shift in the attitudes about adopting children in foster care.

“These children are just like any other child. They’ve simply had a rough start in life,” said Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption “But they are available for adoption, and they deserve to find a permanent family and a safe home.”

Soronen says the Foundation works to find adoptive families that match each child’s individual needs, especially in cases that can make adoption more challenging, like children with special needs, siblings who would benefit from being adopted together and older children who have been in the foster care system for years.

“We use a child-focused approach that allows caseworkers to really dive into the lives of each child and assess their background, behaviors and challenges,” she said. “This allows them to seek out a family that perfectly fits that child’s unique needs.”

Images

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Liz LeBrun shares a meal with her two children, Maria and Andy, at their home in Guelph, Ontario. The children are biological siblings who had never met until Liz adopted them both.

Maria and Andy LeBrun play cards together. The siblings were in foster care in different cities and had never met until their adoptive mother brought them together.

Liz LeBrun (right) adopted siblings Maria and Andy with the guidance of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. The two were waiting to be adopted from foster care in separate cities. Liz and her husband have since adopted a third child from foster care with the help of the Foundation, as well.

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption President & CEO Rita Soronen reviews data from a national survey that shows how attitudes toward foster care adoption are changing.

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption commissioned a national survey that found that among Canadians looking to adopt for the first time, more than half are considering foster care adoption, and of those, two out of three say they seriously considered foster care adoption. The Foundation is on a mission to place as many children with loving families as possible and to spread the word that every child is adoptable.



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