Each November, we recognize National Adoption Month, a time to honor the families who open their hearts and homes to children through adoption and to reflect on the complex realities that bring a child to that point.
Families who adopt from the foster care system take on an extraordinary role. They offer love, safety, and stability to children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect, in addition to the trauma of being removed from their family of origin and the uncertainty during their time in foster care. We celebrate the adoptive families’ willingness to provide hope and healing, showing that love and belonging can grow even after hardship.
At the same time, adoption means there is a loss. For every child who gains a permanent family, there is also the loss of another. The child may have lost their parents of origin, as well as siblings and other birth relatives. Most children in the dependency system come to adoption not by choice of their birth parents, but through circumstances rooted in hardship such as poverty, untreated mental health struggles, substance use, or lack of community support.
When a child is removed from their family, the court and social welfare system work towards making the family whole again whenever safe to do so. When this reunification is not possible, adoption offers something deeply important: a sense of permanence and a chance to thrive. It creates new opportunities for joy, trust, and connection. But that healing journey requires reflection. It asks adoptive parents, Advocates, and all of us who care about children to hold space for the child’s full story, for both the love that grows and the love that was lost.
At CASA of Santa Cruz County, we believe that children should remain with their families whenever safe. We also believe that when adoption becomes a child’s path, it can honor their whole story, their roots, their relationships, and their right to connection. Our mission is to ensure every child feels cared for and connected with the people and resources they need to heal and flourish into adulthood.
This National Adoption Month, let’s celebrate adoptive families for their courage and commitment, and also renew our shared responsibility to support families before separation ever becomes necessary. When our community comes together in compassion and communidad, every child has a better chance to grow up safe, secure, and loved.
