The latest episode of Inspire Atlanta focuses on National Adoption Awareness Month, which is recognized in November.
While all adoption-related issues are important, the particular focus of this month is the adoption of children currently in foster care and we wanted to share a conversation about various aspects of adoption featuring AJC senior managing editor Monica Richardson and Maria Balais, executive director of Leadership DeKalb, a local organization that informs community and business leaders on matters vital to the county and enhances their leadership skills.
According to the AJC, there were three thousand, 3,371 adoptions in Georgia in 2012, and the nonprofit Families First says there are 15,000 children in foster care in Georgia at any given time. Though, Georgia’s adoption rate lags behind the national average, and the number of children in foster care nearly doubled to 14,000 over the past few years. Families First also says 519 of Georgia’s youth aged-out of foster care in 2015, and 25% will become homeless after age 18.
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