Safe Children Coalition Facilitates 34 Adoptions in November

December 15, 2021 – Sarasota

Local child welfare organization Safe Children Coalition celebrated National Adoption Month in November in highly appropriate fashion: by helping 37 children find their “forever families” in Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties.

In some cases, where it is not possible for children who have been removed from a household to safely return home to their birth families, adoptive homes are needed. In these situations, Safe Children Coalition works to find permanent placements for children and offers training for adoptive families with room in their hearts and homes.

“At Safe Children Coalition, we believe that every child deserves a safe, loving forever family,” said Safe Children Coalition president and CEO Brena Slater. “Every adoption offers a reason to celebrate and changes the lives of both the children being adopted and the parents who get to experience the joy of adding a child, or children, to their families. We encourage community members interested in adopting to contact us to learn more about the process.”

Safe Children Coalition provided critical, life-saving programs and services to nearly 8,000 children in Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties last year. In fiscal year 2021, the organization helped to facilitate 174 adoptions; to-date this fiscal year, 69 children have been adopted with Safe Children Coalition’s assistance and guidance.

While community members may not be able to see it, there are many children in crisis in our circuit. Drug abuse by a parent or caretaker is the top reason children enter into Safe Children Coalition’s system of care, followed by domestic violence in the home, physical abuse, neglect, inadequate housing, and abandonment. There are an average of three children – coming into care or moving within the system – requiring placement each day. Once it has been deemed unsuitable for a child to be returned to his or her birth family, the child is then eligible for adoption.

Currently, more than 800 foster children in Florida need a loving forever family. For families interested in adopting a child, the next eight-week, 30-hour Adoption Parent Training class begins January 11, 2022. To learn more about how you can change the life of a child through adoption, please call (941) 724-1101 or visit sccfl.org/adopt.