Adoption Champions to Visit Winamac Winter Wonderland

DCS Logo 3.25inx6inResidents will have the chance to learn more about the adoption process during tomorrow’s Winter Wonderland festivities in Winamac. Adoption Champions will be at Eastern Pulaski Elementary School from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Jeannie Keating with the Indiana Department of Child Services says it’s an opportunity for them to raise awareness, as well as answer any questions people may have, “I think you want to reach people where they’re most comfortable, and if they’re already a parent or they’re involved with the schools in some way, this is an opportunity just to meet them and talk in a very relaxed manner, so it doesn’t feel like an interview or they’re under pressure. There is no pressure. You have to do this when it feels right to you, and we just want to be there when the moment is right.”

Adoption Champions work with the Children’s Bureau in partnership with the DCS to find people willing to be adoptive parents. Keating says they often have firsthand experience with the adoption process, “Many of them are adoptive parents themselves, so they’re able to kind of field questions that many people thinking about it might have. It’s a big decision. It’s a big step; it’s a big commitment. So a lot of people just have a lot of questions, and it’s nice to speak with somebody who’s been there – that would be a cliché, but been there, done that – and understand what they might be thinking about at this stage of the process.”

She says events like Winter Wonderland let Adoption Champions provide an extra nudge to potential adoptive parents, “It’s just getting out in the community; I think that’s really what the key is. I mean, a lot of people, they’re pretty contemplative. They’ve been thinking about it. They may have seen it at their church. They may have seen a flier at the Y. And when they actually go to one of these events and they actually have a chance to talk to somebody, it just gets them that further down in the process.”

For more adoption information, visit AdoptAChild.in.gov or call 1-888-25-Adopt.