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"Every child deserves a loving
family and a place they can call home," Blagojevich said. "Today, we
honor and thank thousands of families in Illinois who have opened
their hearts and homes by adopting a child in need." In 2005,
1,867 adoptions were finalized in Illinois. The Illinois Department
of Children and Family Services collaborates with the Adoption
Information Center of Illinois to provide families with information
on how to adopt. Families considering adoption are encouraged to
call 1-800-572-2390, or to visit www.adoptinfo-il.org.
The Illinois Adoption Advisory Council, an advisory body to the
Department of Children and Family Services, echoed the governor's
call. "Please join us in honoring our adoptive families in
Illinois," the council said in its statement of support for National
Adoption Day, part of the National Adoption Month of November. "This
is a time to celebrate the special joy and lifelong attachments that
adoption brings." The advisory council is comprised of parents,
child advocates and professionals.
During the last four years of the governor's administration, the
Department of Children and Family Services has reached out to the
public to engage and encourage potential foster and adoptive
parents. An innovative social marketing campaign, "Don't write me
off -- foster kids are our kids," aims to change perceptions of
these often-forgotten children and youth and challenges the public
to become involved with local community child welfare agencies.
The campaign, now entering its second year and drawing notional
attention, is a collaboration between the Department of
Children and Family Services, Families Support America, Voices for
Illinois Children, WGN-TV, and over 70 private child welfare
agencies across Illinois. Interested families can learn how to help
by visiting
www.fosterkidsareourkids.org or by calling 1-888-4RKIDS2.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
has also played an important role in supporting and facilitating
efforts of Illinois parents who have adopted children from abroad.
"Recognizing that families who want to adopt children from other
countries face unusually high burdens imposed by the government of
those countries, the staff at IDFPR share the governor's commitment
to helping them," said Dean Martinez, secretary of the department.
"Our staff has worked with representatives in Ukraine and other
former Soviet-block nations to cut through the red tape required to
complete adoptions of foreign babies by Illinois couples."
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Blagojevich established Illinois as a national model for adoption
reform with his signing of the Illinois Adoption Reform Act on Aug.
14, 2005. To prevent instances such as the "Baby Tamia" case in
Illinois, the law provides sweeping protections for families
involved in the adoption process in this state and gives the
Department of Children and Family Services broader oversight of
adoption agencies. The Baby Tamia case brought the tactics of
predatory adoption agencies to public attention. In the case, a
6-month-old Chicago girl was nearly adopted by alleged drug users in
Utah after her birth mother, who was suffering from postpartum
depression, gave the baby to a for-profit agency doing business in
Illinois through newspaper ads. A legal challenge by the baby's
grandmother resulted in a court order returning the infant to
Illinois. The act provides basic protections for families,
including a Bill of Rights for Biological Parents and Adoptive
Parents; assurances that agencies disclose policies, fees and other
relevant material prior to a child's placement in advance of
adoption; and requirement that the fees agencies charge are
reasonable. The law further requires all child welfare organizations
providing adoption services to be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations
and bans unlicensed companies from advertising adoption services in
Illinois. The Department of Children and Family Services is also
required under the law to license any entity providing adoption
services for compensation and to establish a statewide adoption
complaint registry.
Illinois also extends its hand to its most vulnerable children --
those newborn infants at risk of being abandoned by parents in
crisis. In June of 2006, Blagojevich signed legislation amending
Illinois' Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act, commonly known as
the Safe Haven Law, extending the time that a parent may legally and
confidentially relinquish an unharmed newborn from 72 hours to seven
days after the birth. The law provides that a parent may relinquish
a newborn to staff at a hospital, emergency care facility, or fire
or police station without fear of prosecution. The child is then
placed for adoption with a loving family. The 2006 amendment signed
by the governor gives these parents critical extra time to make a
responsible decision and strengthens Illinois' efforts to save the
lives of these babies. Since the law's inception in 2001, 27
newborns have been safely and legally relinquished and adopted by
families in Illinois.
[News release from the governor's
office]
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