Giving Compass' Take:

• Phillip Littleton explains the three steps that agencies can take to ensure a stable, loving home for every child around the world. 

• How can you and/your organizations advance these steps? 

• Learn about a family-based care model to support children.


Moving forward, there are three things agencies can do to ensure a stable, loving home for every child:

Champion efforts to strengthen, preserve, and reunite birth families. Far too often in the developing world, children end up in orphanages for one simple reason: poverty. These children are not orphans. In many cases, they have at least one living parent or family member who would care for them if only they had sufficient resources. Before ever considering adoption, every agency working in the field should have an ethical obligation to first explore the possibility of reuniting a child with his or her immediate or extended family.

Advocate for in-country adoption. Leaders of adoption agencies must create an infrastructure for in-country adoption similar to the infrastructure and efforts they've created for international adoption. In-country adoption is advantageous for children for a number of reasons. In addition to receiving all the benefits of growing up in a nurturing family, children adopted domestically remain grounded in the cultural traditions of their place of birth.

Remove barriers to international adoption. In communities across the U.S., families have come forward ready to open their hearts and homes to children who need a family. According to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, 81.5 million Americans have considered adopting a child at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, few American families actually adopt. A study by the foundation cited the cost of adoption and restrictions put in place by countries overseas as the main factors preventing Americans from adopting.

Read the full article about ensuring a stable, loving home by Phillip Littleton at Philanthropy News Digest by Candid.