'Kids Are Still Waiting': Adoption and Covid-19
COVID-19 has impacted many aspects of our world, but one thing it hasn’t changed is that there are children in need of loving homes.
There are more than 900 children in Minnesota’s foster care system who are waiting to be placed with adoptive families. The pandemic hasn't changed the need for foster families, but it has changed how state and private adoption agencies are currently operating.
Interest in adoption hasn’t waned since COVID-19 struck Minnesota. In fact, it has increased. At least, that is true at Children’s Home Society & Lutheran Social Services (CHSLSS), where Heidi Wiste is the director of foster care adoption.
“We haven’t seen a slowdown in any of our intake. We’ve actually seen people continue to come through (and) continue to inquire about foster care and adoption,” said Wiste.
That surprised CHSLSS staff, according to Wiste.
“We were thinking, ‘Well, who’s going to want to step forward now? People are losing their jobs. People are furloughed,’ and yet we have families who are like, ‘I’m home; I can complete my paperwork now,’ and ‘I’m home; I can do these trainings,’” she said. “They haven’t let the setbacks in what’s happening to them personally stop them from learning more and taking that next step.”