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President & CEO |
e-News from Home - Issue 3, June 2004 - |
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In
this month’s e-News
from Home…
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Road to RecoveryWith her mother unable to commit to her care, Sarah (not her real name) was adopted by her grandfather and step-grandmother. That was when she was three. Ten years later, Sarah's elderly grandfather passed away, and soon after, his wife had a stroke. An aunt offered a home for the girl, but Sarah’s challenging childhood and her deep feelings of loss created a troubled and defiant teenager. They needed a solution.
But good things did happen. Now 17, she is overcoming emotional hurdles as she deals with her past. Enthusiastic about the ROTC, she is looking toward the Army for her life’s next step. And though they couldn’t care for her personally, her grandparents created a college savings for her. Her aunt, far from having rejected Sarah, spends quality time with her and is a reliable financial resource. The cost of having a child in group home care depends upon family income and other factors. We evaluate each case individually. For more information, contact us at umchalwf@bellsouth.net. |
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From the President...The United Methodist Children’s Home was founded in 1890 to care for orphans during a time in our history when there were few laws designed to protect children and to provide for their care. Child Welfare programs as we know them today were non-existent. For much of our history, families, local communities and churches placed children in our care. With creation of a state Child Welfare program, the state and the courts began making increasing numbers of placements, and by the 1970’s, few of our children were privately placed. We are now finding that referrals for private placements, those that come directly from the family with no state or court involvement, are increasing. These children come from a variety of circumstances. Some of them are therapeutic in nature, designed to be short-term placements to assist with parenting issues. Some are from failed adoptive placements of older children, including state, private and international adoptions. Extended families, such as grandparents, who have assumed responsibility for children, often request assistance. This help can include substitute care when the extended family cannot provide that care. As
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Mitzi Cole, our new
HR Director, is hard at work in |
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The Adoption OptionLast November, at our Pike County TFC office in Many families who adopt are able to have children naturally. For others, finding that they cannot have children is a devastating blow, and the home study can be just one more frustrating obstacle to having a child. The process looks at family, marital, financial, and medical history, motivations to adopt, spiritual life and community involvement, and criminal background checks.
In a way, we are tipping our hat to the faithful founders who opened the Children’s Home as an orphanage in Summerfield over 100 years ago. Though our facilities do not have children for families to adopt, Janet and her staff are here to hold the hands of the parents preparing to enter this exciting stage of their lives, and to make sure the orphaned child has a supportive and loving family to come home to. For more information about this program or about
adoption in general, contact |
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Wise Words...The adoption process can be a long and tedious journey. Are you thinking of adopting? Below are some questions to ask yourself. · Am I financially able to provide for the needs of a child? · Am I in good health? · Will I be comfortable discussing my child's adoption story and helping my child remain connected to their culture and birth family? · Are my family and employer supportive of my plans to adopt? · Have I made plans for the care of this child in the event of an unplanned crisis that prevents me from parenting? · Am I comfortable with the fact that my child will not physically look like me? · Will I be able to deal with the fact that the child's complete medical and social history may not be available? · Am I compassionate toward birth mothers who give their children up for adoption? If you answered “yes” to all of them, you may be a good candidate to adopt! Most families seeking to adopt have conducted extensive research on the matter before making one of the most important decisions of their lives. Some of the steps in this journey include researching adoption possibilities, locating an agency, attorney or birth parent, receiving a referral for a child, obtaining an approved home study and dealing with the endless legalities of infant adoption. Understanding the information needed will help all involved in the adoption journey be prepared for the often long and uncertain road ahead. |
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The aunt approached us, and we willingly opened our
arms and hearts to Sarah. She was happy to move into one of our group
homes, thinking that once here, her mother would return for her. That
never happened.
It
can be an overwhelming amount of paperwork,” says