November is Adoption and Permanency Awareness Month and Surrey Schools is celebrating the many families in Surrey, White Rock and the rest of British Columbia who have opened their hearts and homes to welcome children and youth as permanent members of their family.
Recognized by the province annually, Adoption and Permanency Awareness Month is an opportunity celebrate families who have embraced adoption, while also highlighting the needs of children and youth without a permanent home to call their own and caring, supportive adults to champion their successes.
In B.C. last year, there were 114 adoption placements, with 15.1% of children who were eligible for adoption being placed in adoption homes. Fourteen placements were in the South Fraser region, with median time for placement being 27 months provincially.
There are a number of resources and support services for those who are interested in exploring their options to adopt in the province, including:
- Adopt BC Kids, an online portal that provides British Columbians wishing to adopt children and youth from foster care with information and guidance through their adoption application;
- The Ways to adopt in British Columbia Website, which provides information on adoption in B.C., such as infant adoption, relative and step-parent adoption, and adopting a child or youth from another country;
- belongingnetwork.com (formerly Adoptive Families Association of BC), provides information and support services for families who wish to adopt now or in the future;
- adoption-bc.com, a detailed and comprehensive guide to additional adoption resources.
Surrey Schools continues to support efforts to raise awareness around adoption, celebrate adoptive families and find loving, permanent homes for B.C.'s children and youth.
