Blessed

I'm sitting here tonight reminiscing over the last 2+ years with Lil M... and just completely realizing how blessed I am and have been. I can't believe just how little she was when we met and how much she's grown!!!

I'm still praying about a 2nd child, but I'm so extremely thankful for my daughter, it isn't even funny. She is so amazing to me. Her personality has always been so sweet. And, I especially love it when she gets jealous or tries to "protect" me (from the dogs or whatever she sees as something not good for Mommy)!! LOL It's pretty darn adorable.

Anyway, I'm just really happy tonight realizing just how lucky I really am to be able to be her Mommy (always and forever, as I always tell her).

Peace.

Giving our all

What if... we gave everything?

Lil M is 2.5 today

My baby is officially 2.5 years old today. :) She can count to 10, loves to sing the ABC's (acd, mommy), and is doing really well on the potty-training. She loves the dogs, and can actually call them by name now! She says bye to all of them in the morning... including the cat. :) Her favorite toy is still her "Meow". But she loves her blocks and to be read to... daily! She still loves the up-down game, pattacake, and peek-a-boo. :)

So, since she is 30 months old... and was adopted 9.5 months old, came to the USA at 10 months old. :) So, She's been with me for over 20 months now! YEAH!!!

She's the light of my life for sure.

Peace.

If you aren't married, you aren't good enough

Apparently, here in the State of KY, if you aren't married (but choose to live with the love of your life), they want to make a law to keep you from adopting or fostering a child.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 199 to prohibit the approval of foster care, relative caregiver services, or adoption of a child by an applicant who is cohabiting with a sexual partner outside of a marriage that is legally valid in Kentucky; create the short title "The Child Welfare Adoption Act"; exempt children placed for adoption prior to the effective date of this Act; amend KRS 199.470 to conform.

It in my opinion is beyond reprehensible. How they can create a law to HURT children, by taking away viable homes is beyond me. Yes, there always needs to be criteria to make sure the children are safe. But this is ridiculous.

And very close to saying all singles can't adopt or foster.

For shame KY.

If you want to send a letter Here is the link to the Senators of KY:

http://www.lrc.ky.gov/whoswho/county.htm

http://eqfed.org/campaign/family


Peace.

Article

About Single Mother Adoption

The Role of the Single Mother in Adoption of Children from the Child Welfare System

By Penelope L. Maza, PhD, U.S. Children's Bureau

From the Child Welfare League of America

Until recently, national information on the adoption of children by single women from the public child welfare system was unavailable. The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), established by law and administered by the U.S. Children's Bureau, is now providing this information. As the information presented here indicates, single women are a critical component in achieving permanency for children in the child welfare system, and they play a particularly important role in the adoption of African American non-Hispanic children.

Close to one-third (31%) of the estimated 36,000 children adopted from the public child welfare system in fiscal year 1998 were adopted by single women. Almost two-thirds (66%) of single women, more than two-thirds (70%) of the children they adopted, were African American non-Hispanic. Almost two-thirds (65%) of the single women had been the child's foster parent, and more than one in five (21%) were related to the child. In more than three-fourths (77%) of these adoptions, the child was of the same race or ethnicity as the single adoptive mother.

When compared with adoptive married couples, single adoptive women are more than twice as likely as married couples to be African American and non-Hispanic (70% vs. 31%) and are somewhat more likely to adopt children of their own race or ethnicity (84% vs. 71%). In addition, single female adoptive parents are about as likely as married couples to have been the child's foster parent (65% vs. 63%), more likely to have been the child's relative (21% vs. 13%), and less likely to not have had a prior relationship with the adoptive child (14% vs. 24%). Overall, the children whom single women adopt are older than the children whom married couples adopt. The average age of the children adopted by single women is 7.2 years; the average age of children adopted by married couples is 6.3 years. In addition, the time from termination of parental rights to adoption for children adopted by single women is slightly longer than for children adopted by married couples (17 months vs. 15 months).

It has generally been assumed that children adopted by single women may be the children for whom it is most difficult to find adoptive homes. AFCARS provides information on the primary special needs for children adopted. Based on this information, single women are somewhat more likely than married couples to adopt a child whose primary special need is race or ethnicity (18% vs.12%), or a child whose primary special need is age (43% vs. 27%). In contrast, single adopting women are less likely than married couples to adopt a child whose primary special need is having a medical condition or a mental, physical, or emotional disability (14% vs. 22%), or whose primary special need is being a member of a sibling group (14% vs. 22%).

In conclusion, the significant role played by single women who adopt children from the child welfare system in providing permanency for a substantial proportion of the children waiting to be adopted cannot be underestimated. Although they are less likely than married couples to adopt sibling groups or children with disabilities, they are more likely to adopt minority children and older children. At the end of FY 1998, the average age of waiting children was 8, and 53% of the waiting children were African American non-Hispanic. For these children, and for waiting children in general, single adopting women will continue to play a critical role in helping them achieve permanency.