When a child or youth is unable to permanently live with their family, and extended family, cultural and community members have been exhausted as possibilities for permanency options, we seek an alternative to ensure the child or youth’s long-term care and well-being. Adoption is intended to provide children and youth with permanency, security, and lifelong support. Children and youth for whom we seek adoption for are of all ages and reflect the diversity of our Windsor-Essex community. This includes diversity of culture, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Much like the diversity of lived identities, the life experiences of children and youth seeking adoption also varies greatly and can include complex lived experiences.
At present, the Windsor Essex Children’s Aid Society does not accept applications for adoption of children 0-5 as we currently have many approved families looking to adopt in this age range. Currently, our greatest need is in seeking families to foster/adopt children and youth who are 6 – 16 years of age, are part of a sibling group, and have exceptional needs. As well, given the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) children and youth in our care, we prioritize the recruitment of adoptive parents who share a child or youth’s race culture and indigeneity, or those who can make significant commitments to ensure that the child/youth is able to maintain and/or develop a positive cultural identity. This may include supporting connections with the birth family and the child/youth’s cultural community, which are essential components with all adoptions.
When members of a child or youth’s extended family, cultural circle or community are not able to provide permanency, we then match children to approved and waiting adoptive applicants.