PENSACOLA — FamiliesFirst Network’s (FFN) encourages the community to embrace a spirit of caring and commitment to learning more about adoption during National Adoption Awareness Month.
This year’s theme is One Heart, One Home, Change a Life Forever.
Working together we can ensure that all children who cannot be reunified with their parents are placed in safe, loving, forever homes.
Sibling Groups
Did you know that in the local community, 96 percent of youths who come into foster care have a sibling? The last thing we want to do is increase fear and anxiety that can come from familial separation. Children do much better in adoptive homes with their brothers and sisters. Those relationships improve their sense of belonging and emotional well-being.
Teens
Do you remember learning to drive, going on a first date, graduating from college or nailing a great job interview? Those are special teen moments that should be shared with loved ones.
In Florida when you adopt a youth over the age of 15 through FamiliesFirst Network, financial assistance to help with expenses is available until the child turns 21. They are eligible for medical and mental health benefits; and they also qualify for a college stipend. The main “ingredient” an adoptive parent needs to contribute is love. What’s holding you back from this fulfilling journey?
Adoption is an opportunity to build special lifelong bonds that enrich lives. Adoptions also garner a savings of more than $15,480 for the Department of Children and Families for each year a child celebrates another birthday in an adoptive family. Call 850-480-3849. Learn more at FamiliesFirstNetwork.org.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: FamiliesFirst encourages area residents to learn more about adoption