Olathe, Kansas, November 13, 2013 – Fifty children will be adopted later this month in courtrooms all across the state as Kansas families finalize the adoption process during National Adoption Week, November 18 – 23 (see page 3 for date, time and place information).

National Adoption Day (November 23) is a collective national effort to raise awareness of U.S. children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families. This annual event is possible because of the work of policymakers, practitioners and advocates that work all year long to ensure successful adoptions throughout Kansas.

According to the 2013 Presidential Proclamation:

More than 400,000 American children are in foster care, and each year, thousands age out of care without the security that comes from a permanent family or a place to call home. On November 23, National Adoption Day will offer a sense of hope to children waiting for adoptive parents. As we observe this day, courts across our country will open their doors to finalize adoptions that move young people out of foster care.

Judges in Olathe, Chanute, Kansas City, Lawrence, Mound City, Parsons and Topeka, in cooperation with KVC Kansas, will open their courtroom doors during the week, particularly on Saturday, November 23, to finalize adoptions and to help raise awareness for the need for more adoptive families.

KVC Kansas, a child welfare and behavioral healthcare agency headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, has helped facilitate over 2,000 child adoptions in the state since 2005.

Currently in Kansas:

•  5,865 children are in foster care;
•  958 children are available for adoption;
•  the greatest need is for children older than nine years old, members of a sibling group of three  or more children, and children of any age with physical, medical or emotional special needs.

“National Adoption Day provides a great reason to celebrate as adoptions are finalized, helping dozens of children in our state find loving, permanent families,” says Chad Anderson, President of KVC Kansas. “In addition, it allows our community to learn more about the need for hundreds of more children waiting in the wings to find a safe and life-long home.”

KVC Kansas is a subsidiary of KVC Health Systems, Inc., a nonprofit organization that enriches and enhances the lives of children and families by providing medical and behavioral healthcare, social services, and education. In its 43 year history, KVC has grown from a single home for boys in Kansas to a national organization serving 25,000 children in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Kentucky, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. Due to KVC’s leadership in the use of evidence-based research to achieve better outcomes and advance child welfare, the Annie E. Casey Foundation recently endorsed KVC as a best-practice organization. Learn more at www.kvc.org.