The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services says between October 2019 and September 2020, 756 children were adopted from foster care. DCFS Adoption Program Manager Cheryl Tirado said that is the fourth-highest number of adoptions from foster care in a single year…
“We had a phenomenal year even despite both the pandemic and the hurricanes. I think it just proves that families are resilient, and nothing was going to stop them from showing their commitment to our children,” said Tirado.
The record is 912 set in 2018.
Tirado says teens represented nine percent of all adoptions, a rate that has been on the rise in recent years. And she says 44-percent of all adopted children involved siblings…
“Of those 756 adoptions, we are happy to say that 335 of those were siblings who were able to stay together. That is a huge goal for us, to keep siblings together,” said Tirado.
Tirado said more than 125 of the adoptions during the last federal fiscal year took place virtually through videoconferencing such as Zoom.
“This allowed our families and extended families, who may have not been able to be in the courtroom, be able to still participate in this great ceremony,” said Tirado.
Tirado says they still have 110 children who are looking for permanent homes. For information on becoming a foster parent visit dcfs.louisiana.gov or contact your regional DCFS home development office.
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