Our Children
Texas
Youth Connection website- Child Placements
- Who are children with "Special Needs"?
- Successful Youth
- 2005 Texas Adoption Facts
- Poem - I Am A Child
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foster/adopt videos and Public Service Announcements.
Children are placed in foster homes because they have been removed from their own families due to abuse, neglect, or other family problems that endanger their safety.
The children may range from:
- infancy through 18 years of age;
- may have special medical, physical, oremotional needs;
- may belong to any ethnicity or race; and
- may be a part of a group of brothers and sisters who need to be placed together.
Children are placed in adoptive homes if efforts to reunify them with their birth families are unsuccessful. Children whose parental rights have been legally terminated may be adopted by relatives, a foster family, or an adoptive family.
Who are children with "Special Needs"?
The term "Special Needs" is used to define children with several characteristics and does not necessarily mean the child has a mental, emotional or physical disability.
The children may have one or more of the characteristics listed below:
- The child is at least six years old;
- the child is at least two years old and a member of a minority group that traditionally has barriers to adoption;
- the child is being adopted with a sibling or to join a sibling; or
- the child has a verifiable physical, mental, or emotional handicapping condition, as established by an appropriately qualified professional through a diagnosis that addresses:
- (a) what the condition is; and
- (b) that the condition is indeed handicapping.
2005 Texas Adoption Facts
As of January 31, 2005, there were 3,436 children waiting for adoption through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). Of these:
- 1,277 were Hispanic;
- 1,035 were African-American;
- 959 were Anglo and 165 were other.
- 1,921 are male and 1,515 are female.
| Characteristics | Statewide |
|---|---|
| Devl Disability-Diagnosed | 149 |
| Emot Dist.(DSM Diagnosed) | 370 |
| HIV/Pos/AIDS-Diagnosed | 7 |
| Infant Alcohol Addiction | 105 |
| Infant Drug Addiction | 346 |
| Medically Fragile-Diagnosed | 109 |
| Mental Retardation-Diagnosed | 157 |
| Phys Disabled-Diagnosed | 58 |
| Sexually Acting Out | 369 |
Total disabilities listed |
1,670 |