ADOPTONTARIO WEB SITE FEATURES ONTARIO CHILDREN(May 18, 2004) Photolisting web sites have been slower to catch on in Canada than in the U.S., but two new sites from Ontario are building the trend here:
They're no match for U.S. sites like AdoptUSKids, www.adoptuskids.org, with its photos and descriptions of over 3,000 U.S. children awaiting adoption. At mid-May 2004 AdoptOntario described 15 Ontario children seeking permanent homes. Winning Kids profiled ten children. The Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services (CYS) puts the number of Crown wards in Ontario at about 8,800, but only about 650 of them, or 7%, are adopted each year. The AdoptOntario program was founded in September 2001 to help find permanent homes for the thousands of Ontario children in state care. The program reaches the public in two ways:
The clinical co-ordinator prepares the profiles of children to be featured in the column and at the web site. She responds to enquiries from would-be parents and works with the children's agencies and private practitioners to find the most appropriate homes. Access to the web site is restricted: to view profiles of children you must apply for a password by giving your name, address and phone number. In addition, to protect the privacy of the children pseudonyms are used. (The photographs do portray the children described.) The information on each child is general in nature and stresses a child's strong points. Use of the information has been approved by the Children's Aid Society, caseworker and caregiver, and also the child when feasible. Children described at the AdoptOntario on the web site are just some of those available for adoption through the 52 provincial Children's Aid Societies (CASs). The site describes the lifelong issues or conditions facing children in the care of CASs and the implications for families who adopt them. These include attachment issues, physical and sexual abuse, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and alcohol and drug use during pregnancy. The site is also a good source of guidance for women facing an unplanned pregnancy, and directions for adult adopted people on how to find their birthparents. Prospective adoptive parents can look up the cost and waiting time for domestic and international adoptions. AdoptOntario tries to recruit Ontario families who would like to adopt Ontario crown wards with special needs, now in the care of children's aid societies. It's run by the Adoption Council of Ontario (ACO, aco@adoption.ca, www.adoption.on.ca). The project is managed by a steering committee with representatives from ACO, five Children's Aid Societies, private adoption practitioners, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, and the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services. The AdoptOntario recruitment project has four objectives:
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), www.trilliumfoundation.org, is funding AdoptOntario through June 30, 2006. In September 2001 OTF awarded ACO $250,000 to launch AdoptOntario. OTF gives grants to charities and not-for-profit organizations. An agency of the Ministry of Culture, it gets $100 million a year from Ontario casino receipts. The Adoption Council of Canada operates a national photolisting web site called Canada's Waiting Children, www.canadaswaitingkids.ca. For all Canadian photolisting sites, see the list at www.adoption.ca/links.htm#photo. Copyright 2004 Adoption Council of Canada. Reproduction permitted, if credited "Source: Adoption Council of Canada, www.adoption.ca". Please make a request to reprint, so we can track where ACC news items are used. Send your request to acc@adoption.ca. |
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