Blog Topic

A Call to Action for Adoption
Posted by: Steven Kirsh
January 17, 2008

I read an article in the Indianapolis Star news on December 10, 2007, by columnist Betty Cockrum. She stated that according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1 in 5 Hoosier children are living in poverty. A 21% increase from the year 2000. She also made reference to Indiana's failing attempts at providing health care to women. Cockrum discusses the tragedy of these things and explain a great number of problems from poor birth spacing, children living in welfare, and lack of education. All of which contribute to a lower standard of living among Hoosier women and their children.

Cockrum goes on to report, the women are likely to suffer from poorer health, less chance for career advancement, and list of other negative outcomes. Their children are likely to become victims of abuse and neglect and, ultimately, likely to continue to live in the state of poverty for the rest of their lives. A lot of this can already be seen in Indiana's poor comparison to national levels of infant mortality, child deaths, teen deaths, and teens dropping out of high school.

The article discusses how a youngster named TaJanay Bailey, a 3 year old Indianapolis child, was killed by her mother and her boyfriend; currently that mother has a 6 month old, and is also pregnant with another child.

"Not all tragedies make the front page. Some like a lifetime of poverty or lack of education, happen quietly. It's time we start listening more closely and taking action to improve the lives of those living in our midst", says Cockrum.

Although Cockrum's article focused on poverty and changes in the way Indiana addresses the problem, an immediately available solution which costs Hoosier taxpayers nothing and does not require massive bureaucratic changes is adoption.

Adoption offers a woman the opportunity to secure her child's future while at the same time giving her a better chance to provide for herself and other children.

To make this happen, all of us need to be advocates of adoption- not to persuade women that they must choose adoption, but rather to at least, open a dialogue about the truths of adoption in order to let women know that it is an available option.

(Come back to read our next blog- regarding truths and myths of adoption)

Permalink