By Gage Peterson OMAHA, Neb. – November is National Adoption Awareness Month, a time to recognize the importance of providing stable, loving homes for children in foster care. According to the Nebraska Children’s Home Society, in Nebraska, more than 6,200 children are currently in foster care, many still waiting to be adopted or placed in permanent homes.
Local organizations like Boys Town are working to meet that need by recruiting, training, and supporting foster parents across the state.
“There’s always been a huge need and shortage of quality foster parents,” said Matt Priest, director of Foster Family Services at Boys Town. “That number’s only gone up. There’s more stressors in our community, families are under more pressure, so we’re seeing some of that with the number of children entering the system.”
Boys Town, which has served children and families for more than 110 years, offers a variety of programs to support foster and adoptive parents. Each licensed foster family is paired with a consultant who is available 24/7 to provide guidance and assistance.
“As a dad, I didn’t always have somebody that I could just call or text anytime when I was raising my children,” Priest said. “So, it is nice to have somebody that’s a phone call or text away. That support really helps families stabilize their placements, because it’s not always easy.”
Bonnie Almaguer, a local adoptive parent, says that adoption means more than just providing a home.
“Personally, for me, it’s just family,” Almaguer said. “I mean, I have three kids that we’ve adopted, and I don’t consider them adopted. They’re just my kids.”
Almaguer says that she hopes Adoption Awareness month helps highlight the resources available for adoptive families.
“I think there’s a lot of misconceptions about adoption,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize that adoptive families have different struggles to face than biological families. Raising awareness helps people find those resources that are still there, too.”
Priest said both fostering and adoption are community issues that affect everyone in society.
“Foster care is a community program,” he said. “If we don’t take care of children now, then as they become adults, they’re not always contributing members of society. If we can help them now as children, it’s going to benefit all of us.”
Priest encouraged anyone interested in foster care or adoption, to contact Boys Town.
“If people could spread the word on the need for foster parents, contact Boys Town,” he said. “We’re glad to send families through the process. Send them our way, we can use more of them.”
For more information about Adoption Awareness Month and how to become a foster or adoptive parent, visit dhhs.ne.gov or boystown.org.
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