National Adoption Month Calls Attention to 13,000 Missouri Kids in Foster Care

National Adoption Month Calls Attention to 13,000 Missouri Kids in Foster Care

Lutheran Family and Children�s Services decreases financial barriers to adoption, relies on donations to supplement costs

Cape Girardeau, MO �November is National Adoption Month and Lutheran Family and Children�s Services (LFCS) is raising awareness about the significant need for adoption throughout the state. Currently, around 13,000 children enter foster care in MO each year; 1,400 of those children have no chance of reunification with their family and are currently waiting to be adopted.

To call attention to this great need, LFCS is hosting calls to action throughout Missouri, including:

� Cape Girardeau: On November 8, LFCS is hosting a Hope and Healing dinner for all birth mothers to come together and share their experiences. The group will gather at the LFCS Southeast Office (3178 Blattner Drive) from 6pm to 8pm. On November 11, a Light Up the Night candlelight vigil will take place at Hope Children's Home (709 E Main St.) from 6pm to 7:30pm. in honor of Orphan Sunday.

� Columbia: On November 16, the Barnes & Noble located at Columbia Mall (2208 Bernadette Drive) is hosting a book fair from 10am to 7pm; 10% of net proceeds will benefit LFCS�s services in Mid-Missouri.

� Springfield: On November 15, LFCS is hosting a ribbon cutting with the Chamber of Commerce. Guests are invited to take a tour, hear stories of young women and children that LFCS has helped over the past 150 years, and contribute adoption-related photos and notes to a time capsule to be opened 50 years from now. In addition, LCFS employee and adoptive mom, Tina Miller, MSW, will be in attendance with copies of her book, Confessions of an Instant Mom: A Foster-Adoption Tale.

� Throughout Missouri: On November 17, LFCS celebrates National Adoption Day. Hundreds of children across the state will be have their adoptions finalized on this day. In addition, Lutheran churches across the state are asked to remember all those touched by adoption in prayer each Sunday in November.

All of these events take place throughout National Adoption Month with a shared goal of making Missourians aware that there are many ways to help foster children in need.

�Many children in foster care have been permanently removed from their homes through no fault of their own as victims of abuse, neglect, or abandonment,� says Mike Duggar, President & CEO of LFCS. �These kids urgently need to move from temporary foster homes into permanent, loving, forever families. We�re doing everything we can to make that possible.�

While LFCS�s sliding scale fees provide more opportunity for deserving families of all economic backgrounds to adopt, the Missouri organization relies on donations from the communities it serves to supplement those costs.

�In recent decades, the emphasis of the adoption practice has shifted from helping families find children to helping children find safe and permanent families,� says Duggar. �The more awareness and support throughout the state, the better we can do this.�

Those interested in adopting or giving to LFCS can visit www.lfcsmo.org for more information.

About Lutheran Family and Children�s Services (LFCS)

LFCS, a proud member of the United Way, is a statewide agency with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, five regional offices, and numerous satellite counseling sites. LFCS serves families, children, and individuals from all walks of life in their greatest times of need. Services are open to anyone regardless of race, faith, national origin, gender, or age. As a nonprofit social services organization, its goal is to open doors for people who are challenged by poverty, unexpected pregnancy, violence, divorce, unemployment, illness, homelessness, and more. LFCS provides four key areas of support to tackle these challenges: Child Welfare, Mental Health Services, Child and Teen Development, and Disaster Services. The programs offered through each of these areas empower individuals and families and seek to develop healthy, supportive foundations for a lifetime. The staff delivers professionalism and personal care in equal measure to every situation and each client who visits one of the five offices around the state of Missouri. Everything LFCS does integrates with the community to enrich and heal the lives of people with the expectation that troubled individuals will find hope and realize that tomorrow can be different than today. For more information, call 314-754-2785 or visit lfcsmo.org.