LilMtnCbn
06-25-2004, 05:40 AM
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/9006255.htm
Trying to make adoptions click
The Kansas Children's Service League hopes a new gallery of photographs will
win over prospective adoptive parents.
BY SARAH DERREBERRY
The Wichita Eagle
Artwork dotted Old Town Square on Thursday. Propped on easels, photographs of
smiling girls and athletic boys stood in the sunlight.
Each of the faces belonged to a child waiting to be adopted. The photographs
are part of Klicks for Kids, a project developed by the Kansas Children's
Service League that was previewed in front of the new CityArts building near
Third and Mead.
The league, which promotes the well-being of children through parent education,
foster care, adoption and advocacy, joined with the Kansas Professional
Photographers Association to create the project.
Six pictures were on display Thursday. Eventually, the collection will include
50 photographs.
They will be on display in the CityArts building for a week in November before
being taken on a tour for display across the state.
Each of the children pictured is in a group that traditionally has a low
adoption rate: children older than 12, children with disabilities, and siblings
waiting to be adopted together.
The league hopes the display will increase the number of children adopted
across the state, but especially promote adoptions for the children featured in
the photos.
One of them is Destani. She is 13 and has been waiting to be adopted for two
months. She is one of more than 700 children in Kansas waiting for families.
She said her mother, unable to pay the electric bill, gave up custody of
Destani and her sister. She eventually gave up her parental rights so the girls
would be eligible for adoption.
"She didn't want us to be in foster care waiting for her to get things right,"
Destani said.
She said she understands her mother's decision and hopes for an adoptive family
that acts like a real family.
"I want a family who will love me for who I am.. support my goals and help me
reach them," she said.
Deanna Harms of the Greteman Group, which provides public relations for the
league, said photographers working on Klicks for Kids help convey children's
personalities.
"With these photos, the children become more real," she said.
Debbie Lewis, who owns Keepsake Photography in Derby, took Destani's portrait
along with others.
"It's wonderful working with these kids," she said. "They love the specialized
attention... I think everyone should have a good picture of their childhood
because you can't go back."
League spokeswoman Tina Long said 580 children were adopted last year in
Kansas. That is the highest number since the state privatized the foster care
system in the mid-1990s. Long said she hopes this project helps further
increase the number.
"I think there's a lot of good momentum going," she said. "We hope this project
continues that. Research shows that people usually think about foster care or
adoption for 18 months before they pick up the phone... We're trying to speed
up the process."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Trying to make adoptions click
The Kansas Children's Service League hopes a new gallery of photographs will
win over prospective adoptive parents.
BY SARAH DERREBERRY
The Wichita Eagle
Artwork dotted Old Town Square on Thursday. Propped on easels, photographs of
smiling girls and athletic boys stood in the sunlight.
Each of the faces belonged to a child waiting to be adopted. The photographs
are part of Klicks for Kids, a project developed by the Kansas Children's
Service League that was previewed in front of the new CityArts building near
Third and Mead.
The league, which promotes the well-being of children through parent education,
foster care, adoption and advocacy, joined with the Kansas Professional
Photographers Association to create the project.
Six pictures were on display Thursday. Eventually, the collection will include
50 photographs.
They will be on display in the CityArts building for a week in November before
being taken on a tour for display across the state.
Each of the children pictured is in a group that traditionally has a low
adoption rate: children older than 12, children with disabilities, and siblings
waiting to be adopted together.
The league hopes the display will increase the number of children adopted
across the state, but especially promote adoptions for the children featured in
the photos.
One of them is Destani. She is 13 and has been waiting to be adopted for two
months. She is one of more than 700 children in Kansas waiting for families.
She said her mother, unable to pay the electric bill, gave up custody of
Destani and her sister. She eventually gave up her parental rights so the girls
would be eligible for adoption.
"She didn't want us to be in foster care waiting for her to get things right,"
Destani said.
She said she understands her mother's decision and hopes for an adoptive family
that acts like a real family.
"I want a family who will love me for who I am.. support my goals and help me
reach them," she said.
Deanna Harms of the Greteman Group, which provides public relations for the
league, said photographers working on Klicks for Kids help convey children's
personalities.
"With these photos, the children become more real," she said.
Debbie Lewis, who owns Keepsake Photography in Derby, took Destani's portrait
along with others.
"It's wonderful working with these kids," she said. "They love the specialized
attention... I think everyone should have a good picture of their childhood
because you can't go back."
League spokeswoman Tina Long said 580 children were adopted last year in
Kansas. That is the highest number since the state privatized the foster care
system in the mid-1990s. Long said she hopes this project helps further
increase the number.
"I think there's a lot of good momentum going," she said. "We hope this project
continues that. Research shows that people usually think about foster care or
adoption for 18 months before they pick up the phone... We're trying to speed
up the process."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
