Page 5 - Samaritas Our Hands Spring/Summer2024

FAMILY SERVICES
Family Preservation
Finding Forever Familes Foster Care
Independent Living Plus
Adoption
for More Kids

Every day, 2,500 unmatched children in Michigan wait for adoption and stability in their lives.
Most of these children wait 2 to 5 years and are at severe risk of "aging out" of the foster care system
without permanent connections to families and adults to guide them into successful adulthood.
Legacy Adoption Services (LAS) is dedicated to finding permanent homes for every child. With the
help of a $75,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, LAS has been
able to find and prepare more "forever families," with a focus on recruiting and supporting
additional families of color OR diverse and culturally competent families who are interested in
adopting children from foster care.

Using a staff teaming approach, LAS expanded its community outreach and hosted specialized
training for prospective adoptive families to best prepare them for behavioral challenges and
traumatic experiences that waiting children may struggle with. The new family support group
discusses topics from trans-racial parenting to advocating for their child's educational needs. One
member shared, "The support group has helped me feel better about my situation. I feel less alone."

Rachel Sykes, LAS Executive Director, stated, "We plan for these partnerships to grow stronger and
for more voices to be heard, so that more community members can join the effort to place children
with families from their birth county or county of origin. We want these families to reflect the
child's unique demographics and help them celebrate and connect with their culture and history."
One family sought out LAS after attending their church volunteer day, putting care packages together for children in foster care.
The mother said she had it in her heart that she had more love to give and wanted to grow their family through adoption. The father
grew up within the foster care system and shared his struggles with his wife. Their shared resolve to offer a nurturing home to a child
led them to become a licensed foster home. LAS used their strengthened staff matching resources to place them with a young man near
their biological son's age. Their inspiring journey culminated in an adoptive placement, and they now eagerly await the finalization of
the process in June.

Thanks to the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan, LAS results are becoming more visible, and stories are emerging to
inspire more families to participate in our strategic recruitment. One church has even become a regular pen pal with a LAS youth,
hoping to expand to other children.

If you would like to learn more about how to engage with LAS, please contact Angela Baeckeroot at Angela.Baeckeroot@samaritas.org
and Samaritas foster care in your area, please contact Jennifer Stevens at Jennifer.Stevens@samaritas.org. We are grateful for the
generous support of the CFSEM, which shares our vision of finding loving and lasting homes for every child.

Way to go Kristin!

Recipient of the Maura D. Corrigan Foster
Family Lifetime Achievement Award

We are thrilled for Kristin Vanderkam, who has shown exceptional
dedication and compassion as a licensing and intake worker in child
welfare for the past decade. Kristin not only identifies foster homes for
children but also became a foster parent herself in 2019. She has since
become a go-to foster parent for children of all ages and needs.
As a single caregiver for four unrelated children ranging from seven
months to seventeen years old, Kristin goes above and beyond, from
providing emotional support to practical needs like transportation,
cooking, and crisis intervention.
One touching example of her impact is a seventeen-year-old girl who found stability and hope in Kristin's
home after years of instability in foster care. Kristin's kindness and dedication have made a profound
difference in this young girl's life, allowing her to envision a future beyond foster care. Kristin's selflessness and
commitment to making a difference are truly inspiring.
To join Kristin on our team in this meaningful work and to learn more about career opportunities at Samaritas
and Legacy Adoption Services, please contact Melissa Donselar at Melissa.Donselar@samaritas.org
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