Strolling through the halls of the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, attendees are greeted by large black-and-white portraits of smiling children. These children vary in age, race and ethnicity, but they all share a similar goal — to be adopted by a loving family.
These dozens of photos belong to the Indiana Heart Gallery, a traveling photographic and audio exhibit created to find families for children in foster care, and they are on display during a National Adoption Month kickoff event for adoptive, foster and soon-to-be adoptive parents.
According to 2012 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System data, “397,122 children in the U.S. are living without permanent families in the foster care system. About 101,666 of these children are eligible for adoption, but nearly 32 percent of these children will wait over three years in foster care before being adopted.”
November is National Adoption Month, with this year’s theme focusing on the adoption of older youths. More than 35 events are taking place across Indiana to bring awareness to adoption and the importance of loving homes for children, and to celebrate more than 650 adoptive families, said Brooke Clawson, vice president of foster care and adoption at the Children’s Bureau Inc.
When the average American thinks of adoption, they may picture a couple preparing a nursery, purchasing toys and tiny clothing months in advance as they wait for their little one to be brought through the door of their home. While this can be the typical setting, older children also need homes.
In fact, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption found in 2014, 29,471 children turned 18 and left the foster care system without an adoptive family.
Mary Beth Bonaventura, director of the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), said she was an adoptive parent to an older child back in 1996.
“My son was 11 years old in 1996 when he came into my life, and he was a runaway (child) during the time I was a judge in Lake County. I could remember people telling me how lucky he was and what a good chance I was going to give him at life, but he gave me so much more than I ever gave him,” said Bonaventura, who recalls being challenged by her child.
“Shortly after he came to live with me he asked, ‘What if I don’t do my homework?’ and I asked, ‘Why wouldn’t you do your homework?’ and he said, ‘Just, what if I didn’t?’ I answered, ‘Then we’re going to sit and do it together.’ He kept coming up with more and more things asking ‘what if …?’ and it occurred to me he was asking what would it take … for me to turn my back on him and return him to the system. I told him straight — there was nothing he could ever do, and this would always be his home.”
Similar to Bonaventura, several other families have sought the opportunity to adopt, including Indiana’s first family.
Karen Pence, wife of Gov. Mike Pence, shared that the couple had their names placed on the adoption waiting list years ago due to the fact they thought they couldn’t have biological children.
“We finally did get a call that a young girl who had become pregnant out of wedlock was considering five different families (for adoption) and we were at the top of her list. When she called us with the news, we were surprised and excited, but at that time I was pregnant with our son Michael,” said the first lady, who noted although the couple wasn’t sure if the baby would be carried to full term, they made a meaningful decision. “Mike and I felt we weren’t supposed to have that little boy, so we wrote a letter to the mom explaining we know other families can’t have children, and we hope our baby maintains to delivery, but we feel like we should take our name off the list.”
The Indiana Heart Gallery, contracted by the DCS to help manage the gallery, aims to get children — many of whom are older youth and minorities — noticed by families looking to adopt. In order to be featured in the gallery, the court system has to have determined children will not be reunified with their biological family and are a part of the special needs adoption program and are “legally free,” meaning parental rights have been terminated.
If a child is 14 years or older, they have a voice as to where they want to be placed and can request to be showcased in the gallery to bring more attention to their situation. If the child is under 14, the family case manager determines if the child will be featured in the gallery, said Amanda Lopez, president of Transform Consulting Group, where the Indiana Heart Gallery serves as a client.
All of the children featured are a part of the Indiana Adoption Program and their photos are posted on the state’s adoption information website, adoptachild.in.gov.
“(The gallery) brings to life that these are real children, and when people see the child is smiling back at them and waiting for a family, waiting to call home, it’s impactful,” said Lopez. “We feel that having these professional portraits of children brings that human aspect and connection.”
For more information on the Indiana Heart Gallery or adoption in Indiana, visit Adoptachild.in.gov.
