Sunday’s Child is a weekly column that features a child currently in foster care awaiting adoption.

Emily is a shy, yet funny 13-year-old of Caucasian descent. She likes to watch movies and play on her iPad. Emily loves animals and has recently grown a liking towards the therapy dog her clinician uses in their sessions. She also enjoys dance classes and hopes to one day take gymnastics lessons as well. Emily is a “people pleaser’’ and does her best to impress. She can be fearful at times to try new situations and go to new places because she likes consistency and knowing what to expect. Emily can build a trusting relationship with trust and patience. She can struggle academically, but she is a hard worker. She has an Individualized Education Plan for academic needs.

Emily would do well in a home with a single mom, two moms, or a mother/father configuration. Emily has said she would like an English-speaking family, preferably Caucasian. Emily has also said she is not open to busy families who go on a lot of trips, have parties, etc. Emily will also need to maintain contact with her two adult sisters.

How to adopt

To adopt a child from foster care, you must go through a training, interview, and matching process that can take one to two years. To begin, call the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange for referrals to agencies in your area. A social worker will meet with you, then refer you for the Massachusetts Approach to Partnerships in Parenting training. After completing the MAPP course, you’ll have meetings with a social worker who will conduct your home study to explore adoption possibilities with you and begin to match you with a waiting child. It’s important to balance patience with persistence to make a match that will build a lifelong family.

To learn more about Emily, and about adoption from foster care, call the 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.