Adoption reaps many benefits. Aside from placing a neglected or abused child in a loving, forever home, adoption also impacts birth mothers, adoptive parents, extended family and your community.
Adoption is important for everyone.
If you are thinking about adopting, you’re in the right place. Below we discuss the life-changing and lifelong advantages that come with adoption.
Adoption Benefits for Adoptive Families
Parents choose adoption for a variety of reasons, but all with the same hope: to have children for the first time or to grow their existing family.
Sadly, having children may seem impossible for many couples. Whether you are a couple who has experienced complications and infertility, are a same-sex couple ready to start a family, or are single and eager to become a mom or dad, adoption allows everyone to experience the gift of a child.
By adopting, you are able to fulfill lifelong dreams of raising a child, build meaningful relationships, experience new cultural traditions, expose yourself to new activities and interests, as well as continuously learn and grow.
Adoption Benefits for Adoptive Children
First, one of the biggest benefits for adoptive children is that the child grows up in a loving family.
Unfortunately, children in foster care have often been neglected, abused or abandoned. There are several reasons children get placed into foster homes, but one growing reason is the misuse of and addiction to opioids including heroin, as well as prescription painkillers.
When a child’s safety is in question and his or her emotional and physical needs are not being met, the child is placed into foster care. By adopting an abused or neglected child, you are changing their life for the better.
Adoptive children will be less likely to experience domestic abuse and less likely to become homeless, pregnant at a young age, incarcerated or addicted to drugs or alcohol. Instead, adoptive children will be more likely to pursue an education and to secure a job.
Adoptive children have suffered unthinkable circumstances during a time when they should have been safe. By adopting a child and placing him or her in a nurturing, loving environment, adoptive children can bloom into exceptional individuals. By adopting a child from foster-care you can help to form the bonds of attachment which will allow them to overcome a lifetime of trauma. Permanency makes all the difference for their future.
Adoption Benefits for Communities
When teens “age-out” of Virginia’s foster care system, they’re not prepared to be on their own due to lack of support. Their outcomes are devastating:
- Within two years, one in four will be incarcerated
- One in five will be homeless
- Fewer than one in six will graduate from high school
- They also face higher rates of unemployment, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, and more.
According to a report by the Justice Policy Institute, when youth are incarcerated, it costs the state an average of $407.58 per person per day and $148,767 per person per year when the most expensive option is used. According to the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, each child who ages out of foster care costs society more than $300,000, on average, over the course of their lifetime.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a chronically homeless person costs the taxpayer an average of $35,578 per year. Costs are reduced, on average, by 49.5% when homeless individuals are placed in supportive housing.
According to America’s Promise Alliance, high school graduates are more likely to be employed and aid in job generation. High school graduates earn a national average of $8,000 more annually compared to high school dropouts. High school graduates are also:
- Less likely to engage in criminal behavior or need social services
- More likely to have better health and longer life expectancy
- More likely to vote.
By adopting a child before they age-out of the system, you are rewriting their history and helping your community thrive.
Support Virginia Adoption | Children’s Home Society of Virginia
Currently, CHS has many children waiting for adoption who range from 10 years of age to 17. Meet our wonderful children here.
Even though there are many adoption benefits for everyone involved, it is crucial to remember that adoption is a life-long process and comes with many challenges as well.
That is why CHS commits to providing high-quality, personalized post-adoption support services for children and families that include:
- Parent coaching
- Family support services
- Specialized education in trauma and attachment
- Training in effective parenting methods and responses for children from hard places.
CHS is dedicated to finding permanent adoptive parents for children of all ages throughout Virginia and to providing ongoing post-adoption counseling to maintain successful family relationships after an adoption has been finalized.
If you want more information on how to give a child in need a forever home, get in touch with us today: 804-353-0191 (Richmond) | 540-226-0583 (Fredericksburg) Even if you are not ready to adopt yourself, you can help the children and youth of Virginia by donating here.
The Possibilities Project | New Documentary | WATCH
Currently, there are nearly 1,000 children waiting for an adoptive family in Virginia. Of those 1,000 children, 33% are 13 years of age or older.
Unfortunately, the grim reality is that some of these children will not be adopted. That is why we created The Possibilities Project.
The Possibilities Project is a collaboration between the Children’s Home Society of Virginia and the Better Housing Coalition, a community development organization that provides high-quality, affordable housing to build vibrant communities.
Each year, about 500 young people age out of Virginia’s foster care system and are sent into the world with little to no support.
The Possibilities Project Program invests in youth aging out of foster care and changes the trajectory of their lives from the devastating outcomes listed above. Our innovative approach empowers youth ages 18 to 25 who have aged out of Virginia’s foster care system without being adopted. We provide these young people with critical support and housing to assist them as they develop into independent and engaged community members.
We’re proud to say our program works!
- 100% of TPP program participants are in safe and affordable housing
- 72% of our participants are working 20 hours or more a week
- 78% have maintained the same job for three or more months
- 89% have made progress toward financial literacy
If you would like a deeper look into what really happens when youth age out of foster care, please watch the new documentary, “Aged-Out: Finding Home,” presented by VPM and produced by 19RED and Pam Hervey. You can watch the documentary here.