Organization aims to promote adoption of teens

By Staff Writer

In recent weeks, Family Services of Northwestern Pennsylvania has organized a training program to bring together adoptive parents and professionals who place children into foster homes. The program features an array of experts, including Debbie Riley, author of "Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens," and Rita Soronen, executive director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, according to GoErie.com. Thomas - the founder of Wendy's Restaurants - was both an adoptee and an adoptive father; the restaurant chain is named after one of his daughters.

The program offered by Family Services will cover how to talk to children about adoption, how to understand the developmental and psychological tasks that adoptive families may face, and how children are affected by loss, grief, abuse and trauma.

Diane Murphy, director of adoption and kinship services at Family Services, said that these children are usually older, are often minorities and may have siblings who also need a home, the news source reports. She added that people may need more than love to make it work, but with the right training and resources, adoptive placements can be a success for families and for the children.

According to Child Trends, approximately 2 percent of unmarried women at any age place their child for adoption.