Teens are least likely to be adopted. Wake County makes a plea for forever homes.
Many children who enter the foster care system don’t stay for very long before they are reunited with their parents or relatives.
They often enter the system when a parent or caregiver experiences financial hardship, mental illness or drug abuse, dies or becomes incarcerated.
In Wake County, there are 406 children in foster care but only 92 licensed foster homes.
Two children are sleeping in the Swinbourne Building, the county’s Health and Human Services department, as leaders rely on nonprofits and other resources to house children waiting for more homes to become available.
Of the 406 foster children, 92 have been cleared for adoption and placed in adoptive homes, meaning they are with a family intending to adopt them. Biological parents must relinquish their rights for their children to be legally cleared for the process.
But 39 children don’t have an adoptive home and face an uncertain wait for permanent placements.
“Our children are not saying that they want a particular type of family. They just want a family that’s willing to commit to them and accept them as a family member and provide a safe, nurturing home,” said Diamond Wimbush, the child welfare assistant director for Wake County.
County leaders are pleading for potential adoptersto open their hearts to adopt children. The children who need an adoptive home are between 9 and 17 years old, and there is a cluster of children who are 12, 13 and 14 years old.
“Adolescence is a difficult time and having that one supportive caregiver in your life makes a tremendous difference in you having successful outcomes,” Wimbush said. “It’s so important that we connect these young people with family who’s willing to be there for them … and invest in them and want them to be successful and loved and nurtured.”
On Saturday, Nov. 16, Wake County will hold an Adoption Information Fair for prospective parents to learn about ways to help.
A push to adopt older children
Older children and teenagers usually end up aging out of foster care, which typically ends when teens turn 18. In North Carolina, the age is 21. When young adults leave foster care, many face more new challenges without a stable home or support system.
Meredith Yuckman, the president of The Hope Center at Pullen in Raleigh, a group that helps teenagers in foster care transition out, said the need for foster and adoptive homes is crucial.
“In the wake of the pandemic, the number of foster homes really plummeted and the system still has not gotten back to the number of homes we had,” Yuckman said. “And then before the pandemic, we still did not have enough.”
Anytime there is a shortage in the foster care system, teenagers feel the brunt most, Yuckman said. Teens are often the last to be placed in foster homes or alternative arrangements
“There are children living in the county building,” Yuckman said. “That’s just unacceptable.”
“Nobody should have to grow up in an office building, especially not young people who need support and had other trauma before,” she said.
Yuckman said many teenagers who age out of foster care face homelessness.
To combat this, the Hope Center applies for housing vouchers, but the process is lengthy and the teens must have stable living conditions in the mean time.
The group recently received a grant to buy two condominium units for emergency housing while vouchers are pending. About 73% of the young people previously in foster care who the Hope Center helps go on to colleges and universities. Nationally, the rate is between 2% and 6%.
“When teenagers have the support of adults that they trust, they are able to thrive,” Yuckman said. “Foster and adoptive families can provide that support.”
David Ellis, the county manager, said children in foster care are “no different than other children.”
“They want and desire to be loved by an adult or parental figure,” he said in a statement. “Our community can and should do more to ensure these children have a home filled with love to go home to every day.”
Adoption Information Fair
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16
Where: Wake County Commons Building, 4011 Carya Drive, Raleigh.
Registration: Submit a form through wake.gov.
Prospective parents will learn about adoption from foster care from other adoptive parents who have been through the process and connect with partner agencies.
The children awaiting adoption in Wake County are
- Between 13 and 17 years old
- Children with special needs
- African American children, who are often over-represented in the foster care system
Additionally, the county wants to keep siblings together.
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 8:53 AM.