AIR DATE NOVEMBER 18, 2021

Title:  Adoption Awareness

In this episode of Emily Tells All, we discuss the challenges facing our adoption programs and what you can do to help.

Guests and Locations

Embrace Families, Vice President of Child Welfare Operations – Maggie Dante

Children’s Home Society, Adoptions Program Manager & Regional Director of Program Operations – Yolanda Demonte & Jennifer Patterson

Adoption Awareness: Children’s Home Society of Florida

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. Adoption is a sensitive topic for many aspiring parents and those who have been through the system themselves. I sat down to talk with The Children’s Home Society of Florida and Embrace Families. Hear from Maggie Dante (VP of Embrace Families) and Yolanda Demont with Jennifer Patterson (CHS Adoption Program Manager, Regional Director of Program Operations).

Embrace Families

Maggie opens the conversation about adoption awareness by explaining the purpose behind Embrace Families. “We are the state-designated lead agency for child welfare services in Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties. A lot of what we do is to prevent child abuse and neglect- strengthen families. And then for the children that are in our foster care system, we try to reunify them or find them permanency, kind of where the whole adoption process comes in,” she explains.

The programs at Embrace Families revolve around preventative care at home and quick stabilization if the child does end up in the foster care system.

“Let’s say there’s a child that comes into the foster care system. Our goal is to get them home within 12 months or with a relative. If we can’t do that, then we try to find them a foster home where they can stabilize and put them up for adoption if that’s what the judge decides to do,” says Maggie.

If the child gets adopted, then Embrace Families provides post-adoption services. Think support groups, mental health services, and behavioral programs.

Adoption, fostering, or guardianship is a serious process that should not be taken lightly. If you are interested in providing a safe space for a child in need, visit Adopt Florida.

Children’s Home Society of Florida

Another adoption program that strives to help foster children is the Children’s Home Society of Florida. While the organization’s initial goal is to bring children back home safely, this is not possible in some situations. And in these cases, CHS works diligently to find the right family for all children seeking adoption.

CHS does two types of adoptions: private adoption and foster care. The first option involves families willingly giving their child to a family via a mutual agreement. The second involves children who have been removed from an abusive or neglectful situation and are in need of an adoptive family.

Yolonda explains the financial side of adopting in Florida, “There are fees. But with the state of Florida, they basically cover the cost of it through the lead agency. With Embrace Families for approved parents, they do cover the cost of any legal fees in order to finalize the adoption.”

It’s important to note that there are no barriers to adopting a child with special needs or a medical condition. In fact, if adopted through foster care, the state gives you incentives and benefits to pay for medical care for that child.

“The children who are available for adoption are waiting out there for a home, and they don’t need it to be perfect,” explains Yolanda, “They just need somebody that’s willing to connect with them and to love them.”

We encourage you to learn more from CHS to see if adoption is the right option for your family.