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National Adoption Day
November is National Adoption Month, a month set aside to raise awareness about the critical need for permanent homes for children in foster care. For more information on National Adoption Day, go to: http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/2009/index.asp.
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Currently, Franklin County Children Services has more than 200 children in its permanent custody waiting to be adopted. Of these children, youth ages 15 to 18 are in the greatest need for a permanent home, along with sibling groups and children with special needs ages 6 to 14.
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The average child waits for an adoptive family for more than two years, with 19% or nearly 24,300 children waiting as long as 5 years.
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For the last 10 years, National Adoption Day has grown from events in nine jurisdictions to now include events in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. In total, more than 25,000 children have been adopted from foster care on National Adoption Day.
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In 2007, a National Survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption revealed that 48 million people have considered adoption from foster care, yet, there are still over 129,000 children awaiting an adoptive family.
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Adopting children from foster care is virtually free. In addition, a growing number of companies and government agencies offer adoption assistance as part of their employee benefit packages, including time off for maternity/paternity leave, financial incentives, and other benefits and Congress has made federal tax credits available for foster care adoptions to help offset required fees, court costs, legal and travel expenses.
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