Michelle McBratney hopes people on the Coast will think about adoption and rethink the old stereotypes that go along with the word.
"A lot has changed over the years with adoption. But people still have old stereotypes about it," said McBratney, Vancouver Coastal Regional Coordinator for Adoptive Families.
For example, it used to be thought that only young married people would be suitable for adoption. But single people are able to adopt, as well as gays and lesbians and people from different ethnic backgrounds than the child they are matched with.
McBratney said she stands by the motto: "Kids can't wait to have a family." She was encouraged by the number of people who came out to recent adoption information sessions on the Coast.
Attendees received information on what kind of children are waiting for families and what it takes to be an adoptive parent.
Although children can be adopted from anywhere in the province, currently there are about 15 children on the Coast waiting for permanent homes; they range in age from six to 15.
McBratney explains they are all termed "special needs" but said the term is incredibly broad when speaking about children in the adoption program.
"Special needs could be anything, really. They could have come from a traumatic background, could have asthma or could have a parent with a mental illness. Even non-Caucasian children are deemed special needs," said McBratney.
Of the nearly 1,100 children in B.C. waiting for adoption, over 50 per cent have aboriginal heritage; just 35 per cent have Caucasian heritage.
McBratney explains it is possible for a non-aboriginal family to adopt an aboriginal child, but when that happens, a strong plan has to be presented by the family explaining how they will incorporate aboriginal heritage into the raising of the child.
The adoption process can be quite lengthy and usually takes at least a year to complete, said McBratney.
People generally come to an adoption information session like the one being held in Sechelt to have questions answered first. Then the application process begins with the filling out of a form, which is very specific as to the age, race, gender and background of the child a family wishes to adopt.
McBratney said the more specific people are, the longer the process, because it is harder to make matches.
Background checks on the adoptive family are done, and if all is okay, the application information is fed into a computer system that searches for a child who would best match the adoptive parent's application.
After a match is made, the adoptive parent meets gradually with the child so bonds can be built before the child leaves foster care. McBratney said sometimes the matches don't work out, but said it's better to know that in the beginning than after an adoption takes place.
She said adoptions need to be final because "the last thing that child who has been rejected before needs is more rejection." She notes sometimes adopted children end up back in the foster care system.
"That's really a sad thing to see," she said.
There are siblings in B.C. waiting to be adopted together, many teenagers looking for stable homes and physically disabled children who need families, said McBratney, who hopes people who consider adoption won't rule out these children in need.
For more information, call the B.C. Adoption Hotline at 1-877-236-7807, or visit their website at www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/adoption/index.html.
