November is a month that brings a lot of awareness over many different topics. One awareness topic that is often overlooked is awareness for children adoption. National adoption awareness day takes place on November 20th. The goal is to bring awareness towards the adoption of children in foster care in the United states. “In 2019 there were over 672,000 children that spent time in U.S. foster care”-children’s right.org. There are many reasons why children should be adopted. One reason is because children in foster care are often mistreated. Another reason is because there are too many children who are in need of a family and a home. Children end up in the foster care system due to different reasons that are out of their control. Those children are just as important as children outside of the system.

The foster care system is a system where children are put into temporary homes of trained caregivers. The purpose is to temporarily provide a home and  guardian for children from the ages younger than one to the age of 21. Some of the reasons why children are put into the system are: abuse, neglect, financial issues, death, incarceration, and drug abuse. Many times those factors are out of the children’s control. Many families struggle with financial issues and are forced to give up their child to the system due to their inability to properly provide and care for them. Many parents also neglect their children for reasons such as illnesses. A child might also be taken away from their parent or guardian if they are being abused or if their parents are involved in drug abuse. There are also many cases where children have no choice but to go into foster care because their guardian has either passed or been incarcerated. 

Many children in the system get there with troubled pasts with hopes of having a better future. Unfortunately many times that isn’t the case. Children are often being physically abused in their foster homes. “But in surveys going back for decades, from 25 percent to as high as 40 percent of former foster children report having been abused or neglected in care.”-youthtoday.org. The children in foster care are often seen as unimportant and are treated unfairly. According to the most recent federal data, there are currently more than 400,000 children in foster care in the United States and About 135,000 children are adopted in the United States each year. The ratio of adoption to children in foster care proves that there are too many children without a home. 

Many more people should look into adopting children. When adopting a child it is important to learn about the child as much as you can before meeting them. It is also important to prepare by attending parenting and adoption classes and doing at home studies. Adopting a child can be a long process but is also very worth it. It is important to raise awareness on adoption because it can change a child’s life forever.