2021 National Adoption Month Highlights
Meet some of the outstanding families in Indiana who adopted this year! All month long, we’ve been celebrating National Adoption Month by highlighting adoptees and their families.
As Fate Would Have It: How A Simple Joke Turned Into a Forever Family
When 14-year-old Hannah found out about a boy in school who needed a family, she was eager to tell her parents Todd and Tammy (who happened to be foster parents) all about him. As fate would have it, Tammy was a substitute teacher at the time, and she often had Nayvin in class. In fact, the two had already clicked. Nayvin would even jokingly ask Tammy to adopt him. What started out as a silly joke, though, soon turned into reality.
2020 National Adoption Month Highlights
All month long, we’ve been celebrating families who adopted from foster care this year. Families who are able to provide a loving, stable home to older children and teens are especially needed in Indiana.
Bringing Siblings Back Together
As a fifth-grade teacher, Melissa Lafever always kept a close eye on a student named Gina, whose mother had passed away. Melissa knew Gina was being placed into foster care as a result — but what Melissa didn’t know was how much she would be impacted by the news. Melissa and her husband Shawn started the adoption process and welcomed Gina into their family in 2019. This year, the Lafever family also welcomed Gina’s brother Dean into the family too.
Why We Focus on Youth Voices
While we focus on celebrating adoption during National Adoption Month, it’s also important to hear what young people in foster care are saying about what they need in a family, what they want, what’s most important to them. Encouraging youth to have a voice in their permanency planning is empowering and keeps the focus where it should be: on what is in the child’s best interests.
Celebrating National Adoption Month in a Pandemic
Here we are in November, National Adoption Month, with virtual adoptions and limited celebrations scheduled. But, we are still celebrating! We want to celebrate all adoptions during National Adoption Month — private, international, domestic, adoptions from foster care — and honor the adoptive families and the adoptees, even if life does seem topsy-turvy these days. So, what are some ways we can celebrate in 2020, the most unusual of years in recent memory?
National Adoption Month is Over. Now What?
National Adoption Month gave us the opportunity to celebrate hundreds of adoptions in Indiana. Even though the official celebratory month is over, there are still many ways that you can support adoptive families in your community.
5 Ways To Celebrate National Adoption Month
There are many ways to celebrate and support adoptive families during National Adoption Month. Here are some of our favorites!
Another Point of View
We love celebrating adoptions, but it’s important to acknowledge that adoption brings with it many complex emotions, especially for adoptees.
A Brief History of National Adoption Month
Did you know that National Adoption Month came into being over 40 years ago, as just one week, in just one state? Learn more about this important month’s history.
Celebrating National Adoption Month
National Adoption Month gives us a chance to honor adoptees and their families, and raise awareness of the need for adoptive families in Indiana.
Just Getting Started
Melissa has provided foster care and respite care to over 70 children, she has 20+ years of experience working with clients with disabilities, and she has 4 children … for now.