OUR DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO THE HUX FAMILY

Team Hux at the RAC Children Awaiting Parents Family Walk 2011

For those of you who were inspired by Team Hux at our walk this summer, we are sad to share the news of Dalton's passing. He was a beautiful little boy who was very loved by his family and those who knew him. We feel so blessed that the Hux family has designated Children Awaiting Parents as the charity to receive donations in Dalton's memory.

If donating, please be sure to note "in memory of Dalton" so we can be sure the family is notified.

Thank you.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT OBAMA!

photo from http://promobiledj.com/

There is a new law in place that protects aging-out youth from becoming victims of identity theft. That's right, identify theft! Studies estimate that up to 30% of youth who age out of care have had adults use their social security numbers and personal information to get credit cards, loans or to use for other criminal activity.

It is already such a struggle to be a youth in foster care, aging out of the system - this creates just another road block to financial independence.

This past September, President Barack Obama signed a bill into law that requires the foster care system to do a credit check for every child aging out of the system. Not only is this credit check required, the system must help fix any issues that come to light.

YOU GOTTA LAUGH!

It's no secret - we love our families! And we love when they share their stories with us.

Adopting a child brings an abundance of joy, and of course, a bit of "testing" from kids. When they're getting comfortable in their surroundings, a lot of times our youth will "test" their family to see if they're going to be there forever.

One of our families has been visiting with a teenager for the past few months. He's respectful and well-mannered, and they've been having a great time. But this hasn't come without some "testing."

It seems that this young man has hoarded a bit of food in his bedroom, something very common with youth who have grown up in foster care. But this time, he did things a little differently. After eating a few hard-boiled eggs, he left the eggshells in his pre-adoptive mom's shoes! An innovative and creative new way to test his mom's boundaries! And while we would definitely feel bad if she had put her feet into those shoes (which luckily, she didn't), we couldn't help but chuckle when we heard this story!

BRAVING ICY WATERS FOR TEEN ADOPTION

This past New Year's Day, Children Awaiting Parent's employee Ilona Frederick braved the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean to help raise awareness for teenagers who wait for a permanent home. Joining NYC agency, You Gotta Believe, Ilona and her two sisters, along with a number of other supporters, ventured out to Coney Island and participated in this year's dunk-a-thon!

Both You Gotta Believe and Children Awaiting Parents believe that children grow better in families - don't you agree?