It is the wish of almost every child in foster care to be adopted. Either by a caring relative or family of strangers. Just someone who is there at night to provide comfort in the dark after a storm. Someone to watch them play a sport or act in the school play. November is an important month in making their wish come true. It is National Adoption Awareness Month.

According to the National Adoption Council (NCA), states are not required to report the number of completed adoptions in a given year. However, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) reports approximately 127,000 unrelated domestic adoptions were completed in 1992.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provide a harsher picture for these children. DHHS reports approximately 20,000 of 470,000 foster children were adopted in 1997. Many of these children are labeled