New Campaign Urges Hoosiers To Adopt Foster Teens

Each year, November is recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - A new campaign is urging Hoosiers to adopt teens in foster care. 

Kamilah Bunn from Adopt U.S. Kids says the PSA is centered around teenage milestones. 

“The new focus of the campaign is all about firsts, which is really meant to remind parents that there are many other milestones which they have yet to experience,” says Bunn.

About one in five youth in the U.S. foster care system waiting to be adopted are teens, and the number of teens in foster care continues to increase. 

In Indiana, about 9,000 children are in foster care waiting to be adopted.  In 2016, out of nearly 13,000 Hoosier children who entered the system, only about 9,000 were adopted. 

Bunn says many misconceptions, fears and insecurities keep good prospective parents from adopting. But adopters do not have to be perfect parents. She notes the many support mechanisms to guide them through the process.

Children aged 15-to-17 years old usually wait twice as long to be adopted than children 14-years-old or younger. Bunn says teens need support through prom, their first relationship, and first heartbreak. 

“These are fun and special times, and important times and critical times in the lives of teenagers. We want families to know that they can play a significant role,” explains Bunn.

See another one of our brand new adoption PSAs - "First Heartbreak" https://t.co/4pdnWhqCf2 #fostercare #adoption pic.twitter.com/C2ZtyisDXs

— AdoptUSKids (@AdoptUSKids) October 27, 2018