Governor Scott and First Lady Ann Scott Celebrate National Adoption Month
Statement
oday, Governor Rick Scott and First Lady Ann Scott recognized November as National Adoption Month. In fiscal year 2014-2015, DCF and community-based partners found families for over 3,000 Florida children. Currently, 800 foster children are available for adoption in Florida.
Governor Rick Scott said, "Ann and I recently celebrated the birth of our fourth grandson and are incredibly thankful for our family. I hope that National Adoption Month will bring increased awareness to the number of Florida children who are in need of a supportive family. I encourage families who are able to provide a forever home to foster children consider adoption so that every child can have the opportunity to achieve their dreams."
First Lady Ann Scott said, "As a mother and a grandmother, I believe that every child deserves to have a warm and loving environment in which to grow and to learn. I am proud to join Rick in raising awareness to help Florida's children in foster care find loving and permanent homes by recognizing November as National Adoption Month."
DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said, "The department's most sacred responsibility is to protect children and, when we determine that a child's birth parents do not have the capacity to be parents, we take action to remove the child and place them for adoption. There is nothing more rewarding than to see those children find loving families with whom they can share holidays, birthdays, weddings as well as all the challenges of life. I adopted my son nearly 20 years ago and could not imagine life without him."
Kurt Kelly, Florida Coalition for Children CEO, said, "During National Adoption Month our community-based care lead and provider agencies celebrate thousands of adoptions. Because of the dedication and passion of our adoption specialists, case managers, staff and volunteers, Florida is a leader in the number of children adopted each year. November is a time to celebrate these forever families and educate others about fostering and adoption."
Find out more information on adoption in Florida at AdoptFlorida.org. DCF'S online campaign, "30 Days of Amazing Children: Explore Adoption," features pictures and videos of children sharing about their hope to find a family.
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