One of the most significant and selfless acts of love one can make is adopting one or more of the thousands of children in the Arizona foster care system. Sadly, there are nearly 10,000 from which to choose. Arizona Department of Child Safety reports many of the 9,900 children in foster care will age out before being adopted.
November is National Adoption Month, a time to focus our attention on a never-ending need and how to shrink it one child at a time.
Watch here a heartwarming story of a local family that opened their home and hearts and ended up receiving a blessing themselves.
Arizona DCS reports the number of children in foster homes dipped below 10,000 for the first time since 2008. That is a marked improvement from 2016, when more than 18,650 children lived with foster families in Arizona.
If you are considering opening your home to foster a child or adopt one or more of the many children looking for a forever home, there are many resources available to help you every step of the way.
You can find out more at these foster care and adoption websites:
There are several financial benefits available to make the adoption process more affordable. The federal adoption tax credit eases the tax burden on adoptive families. Get more information on that here. The tax credit helps pay adoption fees, court costs and attorney’s fees, traveling expenses related to the adoption, and other adoption related expenses.
In Arizona, taxpayers can direct some of their state tax dollars to the state’s foster care tax credit program. Married couples can direct up to $1,051 of their taxes to the program; individual filers can direct up to $526. Christian Family Care provides important and useful details on their website.
Most of the websites listed above offer opportunities to support them as they help connect children with families. There are opportunities to mentor, volunteer, donate items to Christian Family Care’s thrift shop, support families in your church through AZ 1.27’s “Wrap Around Teams” or Focus On The Family’s “Family Allies” program, or give to any of the credible private organizations above.
ICYMI