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During National Adoption Month, KVC Health Systems Facilitates Over 60 Children’s Adoptions & Highlights Waiting Children

National Adoption Month 2019 - National Adoption Day - KVC Health Systems KVC Kansas KVC West Virginia KVC Adoptions Foster Care

(Pictured above: Children who need loving adoptive families. Meet the children at http://adoption.kvc.org or www.adoptuskids.org.)

There are over 123,000 children and teens who urgently need loving adoptive families. These children have experienced abuse, neglect or other serious family challenges and are at risk of aging out of foster care without permanent family connections.

During National Adoption Month in November, KVC Health Systems’ local community teams are helping to facilitate over 60 children’s adoptions in Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, and West Virginia. Many of the adoptions will take place on November 23, National Adoption Day, a special Saturday when courthouses open so families can finalize their adoptions and grow in love.

Marlee’s Story

The Jarrell family in West Virginia adopted 15-year-old Marlee.

One happy adoption story is that of Marlee, a now 15-year-old girl in West Virginia. Marlee was 13 years old and in foster care when she met Trista and Justin Jarrell. When they found out Marlee needed an adoptive home, they decided to become foster parents. Marlee came to live with the Jarrells in late 2017 and in August 2019, the Jarrells adopted her. She appreciates having a family that loves her unconditionally and she wants to help other children experience the same sense of safety and belonging. Marlee has volunteered to help care for younger children and babies during KVC West Virginia foster parent training events and her parents continue to be foster parents as well.

Meet the Children Waiting for Families

The theme of this year’s National Adoption Month is “Youth Voices: Why Family Matters” which highlights how important adoption is to waiting teens. Approximately one in five children in U.S. foster care waiting to be adopted is a teen, but only 5% of all children adopted in 2017 were 15-18 years old.

Profiles of children who need to be adopted can viewed at www.adoptuskids.org, or for those children served by KVC Kansas, at http://adoption.kvc.org. The profiles include photos, bios and, in many cases, videos.

According to the most recent AFCARS report, of the 123,000 children and youth waiting to be adopted:

  • 52% are male and 48% are female
  • 22% are African American, 22% are Hispanic, and 44% are white
  • The average age is eight years old
  • 11% are between 15 and 17 years old
  • Average time in foster care is 31 months

National Adoption Month Courthouse Celebrations

Media representatives are invited to observe adoption finalizations and interview adoptive families at the times and locations below. Media in other states can contact KVC at (913) 322-4994.

TOPEKA, KS – 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23
Shawnee County Courthouse
200 SE 7th St., Topeka, KS

OLATHE, KS – 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23
Johnson County Courthouse
100 N. Kansas Ave., Olathe, KS

KVC’s adoption work is done in partnership with the Kansas Department for Children and Families, Adopt KS Kids, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and the West Virginia Department for Health and Human Services.

In total, KVC Health Systems’ local teams have facilitated 5,321 children’s adoptions in the agency’s history and facilitate an additional 500+ children’s adoptions each year.

Visit our adoption website to meet the children in need of adoptive families at http://adoption.kvc.org or www.adoptuskids.org.

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