Originally posted by KVUE News
AUSTIN, Texas — Every week on KVUE Daybreak, we feature children of all ages in the Texas foster care system, in the hopes of helping them get adopted by a forever family.Â
Every child that we feature is part of the Heart Gallery of Central Texas, through the nonprofit Partnerships for Children. Each featured child needs an adoptive family because their biological parents have fully terminated their parental rights.
Starting the adoption process can sometimes feel overwhelming. That’s why Foster Community offers monthly information sessions, virtually and in person, to help prospective parents better understand foster care and the best way to support these children.Â
Danielle Sinista is the community partnerships manager with Foster Community. She said the meetings are coordinated by local advocates who have connections to children in the Heart Gallery and their caseworkers.
“Most people come to the info sessions, and they don’t know where to start. And through the info sessions, you learn about the licensing process; you learn about what foster care is; what, if you foster and you want to foster to adopt; or if you want to adopt a child who’s parents, you know, bio parents, have lost their parental rights,” Sinistra said. “It really covers all of those bases, as well as, maybe you decide, ‘You know, I’m not really sure if I’m ready to jump in to foster or adopt?’ That’s amazing too because we need volunteers. There’s so many ways you can help, from becoming a casa worker to becoming a respite care provider.”
Another beginning step to the adoption process is creating a Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE) profile through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ (DFPS) website.Â
First, you find a child that you’re interested in on the Heart Gallery page or through a Forever Families story. Then, you must create a TARE profile before placing an inquiry.
KVUE launched the Forever Families segment with Partnerships for Children (PFC) in June 2020 to highlight children in the Heart Gallery of Central Texas who need secure and permanent families. Every day, there are nearly 1,000 children waiting to get adopted in Central Texas, according to PFC.
Editor’s note: The children who are in the Heart Gallery program and featured in KVUE’s Forever Families segments are children who have had every effort made on their behalf to connect them with family or others in their community to provide options for permanent, adoptive homes. Through no fault of their own, that hasn’t happened yet, and so in partnership with the Department of Family and Protective Services, we collaborate to bring awareness to KVUE viewers about these children in the hopes of finding them permanency before they age out.