Bush Urges Americans to Adopt Orphans
By Melissa Charbonneau
CBN News
November 23, 2007
CBNNews.com - The White House is reaching out to faith-based and community groups to find homes for the nation's 115,000 children in foster care, waiting to be adopted.
Dawn Cooper, a single mom of four adopted teenage girls, says misperceptions abound - especially regarding the adoption of older children.
Watch for more on adopting foster care children, from Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family. Daly talks about his experiences in foster homes.
Some of those misconceptions include the belief "that there's no way for them, no hope for them. That there's nothing you can do. That if you don't get them as infants, you just can't bring them into the home. And that's totally incorrect," she said.
Cooper's daughters advise children considered difficult to place to hold out hope.
"I'd say just keep trying, keep wanting to get a family, because when I was eight I prayed that I would get a loving mom. Then kind of a week after, I got a mom and I was so happy," Dawn's daughter, Elisa, said.
'Bella' Sparks Nation-wide Debate
A film called Bella is sparking nationwide debate about adoption. It's film's leading man, actor/producer Eduardo Verastegui, spoke at the White House as United Nations unofficial ambassador for adoption.
"Families have changed their lives forever after adopting a child. Because it's not only that a family can give a child a home, but they themselves would have the gift of motherhood and fatherhood. So in adoption… everybody wins," Verastegui said.
The Bush administration has expanded tax credit to encourage more families to adopt. Currently it's running an ad campaign to recruit adoptive families
"Families who adopt show the generous spirit of our Nation. Every child desires a permanent home, and when parents adopt a child to love as their own, lives are forever changed," President Bush said.
There is also a White House Web site designed to connect those available for adoption with families like Victor and Rhonda Long, who found their third adopted child online.
The White House says the government can help recruit potential parents, but faith based and community groups must play a critical role to bring more families together.
*Original broadcast November 16, 2007.
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