Pennsylvania Highlights November as National Adoption Month

HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania is commemorating November as National Adoption Month, raising awareness through a new campaign to find families for the 2,500 children currently residing in Pennsylvania foster care with a goal of adoption.

"The Corbett administration knows the importance of children needing a permanent and loving home," said Lt. Governor Jim Cawley, a foster and adoptive parent. "Pennsylvania children residing in foster care have hopes and dreams like any other child; they just need a family to share it with indefinitely."

Pennsylvania recently launched a new adoption campaign titled #MeetTheKids, which featured Cawley's wife, Suzanne, as a spokeswoman. The campaign was created to help prospective foster and adoptive parents get to know the youth in foster care and hear their stories directly from them. The stories used throughout the campaign were not scripted and shared the candid experiences of youth in the Pennsylvania system.

In the few months the campaign has aired, five of the 12 youth featured have been matched with potential families. One of the youth matched, Jamari, age 19, was featured on the NBC TODAY Show in a live segment as part of a week-long celebration of National Adoption Month. Jamari discussed what it is like to be an older youth in foster care waiting for a family and what having a family means to her.

"Children are the best advocates for themselves. No one can tell their stories quite like they can," said Department of Public Welfare Secretary Beverly Mackereth. "You can't help but fall in love with these children. They want what everyone else has, a place to call home."

The Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN), operated by the Department of Public Welfare's Office of Children Youth and Families, helps match children in need of adoption with potential families. More than 35,500 children have been adopted to date through the network.

To learn more about the children in the Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network, visit the SWAN website at www.adoptpakids.org or call the SWAN Helpline at 1-800-585-SWAN. Visit the SWAN page online on Facebook at www.facebook.com/adoptpa and remember to hit "Like". To watch the video, meet the kids, and change a life, go to http://www.youtube.com/adoptpakids.

Media contact: Kait Gillis, 717-425-7606

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare