In its 50 years of providing heart-centered service, nonprofit KVC Health Systems’ local community teams have facilitated the adoptions of over 5,539 children in foster care. These are children and teens who have experienced abuse, neglect or other serious family challenges. They cannot be safely reunited with their birth families and have no one else to care for them.

Yet, according to the latest national report, over 122,000 U.S. children and teens in foster care are still waiting for an adoptive family. Each one of these waiting children deserves the love and security that a permanent home provides.

Interested in adopting? Sign up for the free foster and adoptive parent training classes.

Adopting a child from foster care is essentially FREE, which is not the case with private and international adoptions. Learn more about how much it costs to adopt a child.

Meet Youth Waiting for Families

You can view online profiles and learn more about children who need to be adopted. Meet some of the children we’re serving in Kansas at adoption.kvc.org or find children needing adoptive families in your state at adoptuskids.org. These profiles include photos, bios and, in many cases, videos.

Here are a few of the Kansas children who need adoptive forever families.

Meet Jessica, age 16
Friendly, kind and artistic is how people describe Jessica. They also say she’s patient and empathetic to others. Jessica enjoys being outside, hiking and swimming. Other interests include crafts, music, watching movies, fixing hair or just being social. She also loves to travel. Jessica is proud that she has a part-time job! When she’s older, she would like to study psychology or have a career in law enforcement. Jessica would like to join a family that is patient, consistent, open-minded and inclusive. She would benefit from a family that would help her set goals and support her in achieving those goals. Learn more about Jessica here.

Meet D’Coree and D’Saveur, ages 11 and 6
D’Coree and D’Saveur wish to be adopted together into a patient, loving family that will spend time with each of them individually. Both of the boys enjoy swimming and playing outside. D’Coree likes to sing, build with Legos, play with action figures and play basketball. He also likes to watch movies. D’Coree is fascinated with dinosaurs and can tell you which is which! He loves to play sports, especially soccer. He also enjoys watching Paw Patrol, going to the park and doing crafts. D’Saveur loves Jesus and often asks to listen to Christian music. He does well at school and likes all of his classes. Both D’Coree and D’Saveur would benefit from a family that is knowledgeable about parenting children who have experienced trauma. Only families living in Kansas are being considered at this time. Learn more about these brothers here.

Meet Skylor, age 13 
People who know him describe Skylor as “interesting and charming,” as well as “very agreeable.” He says he is a “good helper.” Skylor likes football, and his favorite class in school is physical education. He would like to be a Formula One racecar driver when he grows up. Skylor gets along well with his peers and with adults. He’s good at relating to others. Skylor would do best with a family that would provide strong boundaries, lots of understanding and a great deal of love. He’d also like a family that has pets. Learn more about Skylor here.

National Adoption Day 2020

Throughout National Adoption Month, and particularly on National Adoption Day which is November 21 this year, courthouses across the country will help families finalize their adoptions and grow in love. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these adoption hearings are happening virtually in most states this year.

The theme of this year’s National Adoption Month is “Engage Youth: Listen and Learn,” which highlights the need to connect with teens, who often age out of foster care without a support system. Securing life-long connections for them is critical in determining their future well-being. Approximately one in five children in U.S. foster care waiting to be adopted are teens, but only 5% of all children adopted in 2017 were 15-18 years old.

According to the most recent AFCARS report, of the 122,000 children and youth waiting to be adopted:

• 52% are male and 48% are female
• 23% are African American, 21% are Hispanic, and 44% are white
• The average age is eight years old
• Average time in foster care is about 20 months

KVC’s adoption work is done in partnership with state child welfare agencies and AdoptUSKids. Check out this emotionally moving PSA on the rewards of adopting a teen:

Families Find New Ways to Celebrate Despite COVID-19 

Adoption day celebrations are typically marked by gatherings in courthouses, balloon releases and other fun group activities. This time around, families and KVC staff are taking new approaches to celebrate families who adopted this year. In Kansas, for example, families are holding car parades, drive-in movies, raffles and more. Children’s adoption finalizations are still able to happen with judges using video conferencing, and every one is worth celebrating.  

Interested in adopting? We recommend you start by signing up for the free required training class to become a foster or adoptive parent.