Restoration Rome hosts celebration for local adoptions
November is National Adoption Month.
Churches and agencies join together to call attention to the thousands of children in foster care awaiting adoption, and in recognition of this special time of year, Restoration Rome along with the Floyd County Division of Family and Children’s Services and Bethany Christian Services hosted a celebration for all the Floyd County children adopted in 2018.
“We are so excited about the children in Floyd County achieving permanency through adoption this year. We appreciate our foster parents, relative families, and our community partners’ support because without them, this would not be possible,” Deanna Marsh, permanency administrator for the Georgia Division of Family and Children’s Services said.
With a shortage of foster homes available for placement, Floyd County has often been forced to look to other counties for foster placement and adoptive families.
Children are placed in safe and supportive homes, but those homes can be far away from the comfort of extended family, friends and familiar environments.
“It is so important for children to stay connected to their home communities if possible. Today, we are also celebrating the fact that of the 74 Floyd County children adopted this year, 34 were able to stay in Floyd County. There were also 17 children in our county adopted by relatives,” said Marsh.
The celebration was a festive time for the children and their families with a special recognition program, and of course, cake. There were also staff members from DFCS, Restoration Rome and private adoption agencies on hand to fellowship with the adoptive families.
“This is an important day, not only for these children and their new forever families, but also for our community,” said Mary Margaret Mauer, Co-Founder of Restoration Rome. “There are almost 300 foster children currently in care in our county, and 10 of our children in care are in need of an adoptive family. We want to see those 10 children at next year’s adoption celebration. When we are able to provide permanency for even one of these children, our community grows stronger and their future is that much brighter.”
To further the effort of recruiting new foster families in Floyd County, and continue to engage members of the community in service of children in foster care, Restoration Rome is partnering with local churches to promote Stand Sunday on Nov. 11. Currently, more than 2o churches from around the community will be participating in some way to raise awareness of the foster crisis in Floyd County and to encourage their congregation to take a stand for the foster children in our community.
Restoration Rome is also hosting an Open House with tours on Thurs- day, Nov. 15, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. for anyone who would like more information on the many ways to serve children in foster care. The community is invited to attend and find their fit in caring for children in need. For more information on Stand Sunday visit www.restorationrome.org or email info@restorationrome.org.