Sunday’s Child is a weekly column featuring a child currently in foster care awaiting adoption.
Michael is an engaging, energetic, and active 10-year-old African-American boy who likes playing video games and Pokemon cards. He also likes arts and crafts, board games, and action figures. Michael is well-coordinated and athletic, and he shows confidence in his abilities. He has played flag football and has also taken karate lessons. Michael does well playing with his peers and in groups. He is currently placed in a group home where he has developed some positive relationships with the staff.
Michael has responded well to the structure of his therapeutic classroom and he has formed some positive, trusting bonds with teachers and staff. He is a creative writer who enjoys writing his own stories and making books.
Michael would do best in a two-parent home, or with a resilient and vigilant single parent, that could provide him with structure and calm limits while also being able to offer him warmth and affection. Michael would like a family with whom he could “share a lot of laughs’’ and who would also protect him. He also needs to remain in contact with his younger sister.
Who are the children waiting for adoption?
There are approximately 2,400 children in Massachusetts foster care with the goal of adoption. Through no fault of their own, they cannot be raised by their birth parents. Many will be adopted by a relative or foster parent, but more than 600 have no one to adopt them yet. These waiting children are usually between the ages of 1-18. Many are sibling groups who belong together, children of color of all ages, and children with intellectual, physical, or emotional difficulties or disabilities. These children have experienced many losses and changes in their lives, and need patient and dependable adoptive parents who can help them grow and thrive. Free post-adoption support services are available to help.
To learn more about Michael, and about adoption from foster care, call the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) at 617-54-ADOPT (617-542-3678) or visit www.mareinc.org. The sooner you call, the sooner a waiting child will have “a permanent place to call home.’’
