PIERRE – Adoption has lifelong positive impacts for the children and families involved. Every child needs love, support, and a safe place to call home. There are youth in our state now who are waiting for the right family to open their hearts and homes to adoption. For this reason Governor Kristi Noem has proclaimed November 2022 as Adoption Awareness Month in South Dakota.
This month we rejoice with the families and children who have grown through adoption. We also want to raise awareness that there is always a need for more adoptive families. Adoption is a major commitment and South Dakota’s Department of Social Services (DSS) has resources and staff to help you determine if it is right for you.
“If you have questions about adoption, DSS has answers,” said DSS Cabinet Secretary Laurie Gill. “Whether your questions are about the process, about expenses associated with adoption, or if training is available, DSS has answers.”
November 19th is National Adoption Day. A day when many children and families celebrate what adoption means in their lives.
There is an ongoing need for parents willing to adopt siblings, older children, and young people with complex medical and behavioral needs. Currently there are more than 100 children and teens in foster care in need of adoption in South Dakota.
DSS and private adoption agencies across the state work to find loving, safe, and stable permanent families for children. In fiscal year 2022, 267 children in South Dakota were placed with an adoptive family through DSS. Many other adoptions took place through independent and private adoptions.
Governor Kristi Noem’s Stronger Families Together initiative is a campaign focused on recruiting, preparing, and supporting foster and adoptive families in our state.
“As long as there is a need for adoption, we will continue working to find homes that are just right for the children that are waiting,” said DSS Cabinet Secretary Laurie Gill. “We will not stop. We say it often because it is so important, ‘Every child deserves a safe loving home.’”
For more information about foster care or adoption, visit StrongerFamiliesTogether.sd.gov.
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