As Fate Would Have It: How A Simple Joke Turned Into a Forever Family

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.

Bringing Siblings Back Together

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

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

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?

Pin It on Pinterest