National
Adoption Awareness Month – A Time to Celebrate
FAMILIES
By
Nancy S.
Fontaine, Ph.D.
November is National Adoption
Awareness Month. The purpose of this special
month is to focus attention on the increasing number
of children in our child welfare system waiting to
be adopted. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by
November 2004 1.6 million children under age
eighteen have been adopted. The acknowledgement of
November as National Adoption Awareness Month began
in Massachusetts in 1976, with many states following
the lead and hosting their own adoption awareness
events during the month. Each year the President
joins the adoption community across the nation in
proclaiming November as a month when Americans
should be aware of opportunities to build or expand
families.
What a wonderful idea, i.e., to
create a special time to celebrate the experience of
those families who have chosen to open their hearts
and home to a child through adoption. Adoption
is from the Latin word, optare meaning “to
choose.” Adoption is a choice, an act of embracing,
an attachment. A family chooses to adopt and through
this action embraces another; an attachment results.
A family is built, added to, changed in structure.
Relationships grow and expand within and without.
While the main focus on the National
Adoption Awareness Month has been on domestic
adoption, there are a staggering number of children
here in the U.S. who have been adopted from foreign
countries. Thirteen (13) percent of the 1.6 million
adopted children are born in foreign countries.
According to the Adoption Institute estimates,
between 1971 and 2001, U.S. citizens adopted 265,677
from other countries in Asia, Europe, South America,
North America (excluding the U.S.), Africa, and
Australia and Pacific Islands. The largest number
of adoptions occurred from Asia (156,491). During
the 10-year period the number of international
adoptions continued to climb each year.
With the realization that the
definition of “adopted family” extends to honoring
children from many countries, perhaps it is now time
to expand the focus of National Adoption Awareness
Month to National and International Adoption
Awareness Month. In this manner all families
who have adopted, whether domestically or from
another country, can join in the experience of
celebrating the choice of adoption.
For individual families, special days
can be designated as “family time.” Why not do as
the Chinese do on September 18 for their Moon
Festival, .i.e., go outside and look at the moon and
ponder the wonders of the love that binds us
together regardless of time, place, or
circumstance? The individuals who gave birth to
adopted children can also be included in this time
of thanksgiving. On November 24, when families
prepare and eat a Thanksgiving meal together, the
focus is on family and acknowledging gratitude for
the blessings of love and relationships. Spending
simple time together just talking and getting to
know each other once again, without the
interruptions of after school activities, work, and
household chores, can bring a new focus that those
of us in busy homes need.
For communities, November can be a
time to come together in celebration of families,
whether a family through adoption or through birth.
Looking around you at a supermarket or area discount
store or restaurant will increase your own awareness
of those families that are transcultural. Many
international adoption groups in local communities
already participate in activities together. For
example, Families with Chinese Children, in local
areas eat dinner together or celebrate holidays as
an interconnected family. Wouldn’t it be truly
marvelous if all these groups can join in a
community partnership for the purpose of awareness
of adoption, awareness of international adoption,
and awareness of families through adoption?
While there are children who have
found loving homes here in the U.S. there are many
more who are still awaiting a family. Millions of
children in America, and countries such as Russia,
the Ukraine, China, Korea, Guatemala, and Ethiopia
have been ‘left behind.” While we are with our
families celebrating or expressing gratitude for all
we have been given, it is also a good time to
remember those children. Perhaps with so many
adoptive families coming together to celebrate
National and International Adoption Awareness Month,
others’ understanding of the tragic issue of
children without families can expand to a
willingness to consider an adoption choice.
Nancy S. Fontaine, Ph.D. has four
children including two four year olds adopted from
China. She has a doctorate in early childhood
education, a masters degree in child development,
and two bachelor’s degrees – in social work and
elementary education. For the past two years, Dr.
Fontaine, has acted as the Florida Office Director
for Chinese Children Adoption International. She
has also worked as a university professor, a state
prevention director, human services counselor, and
an elementary school teacher.
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