November 4, 2008
Statement to the Legislature by Deb Matthews, Minister of Children and Youth Services - National Adoption Awareness Month

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m honoured to rise in the House today to mark the launch of national Adoption Awareness Month.

At the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, we’re working to help every child in Ontario succeed.

We all know that the love of a family in a home is the foundation of that success.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to thank the thousands of generous men and women, brothers and sisters, who have opened their hearts and homes through adoption to children who needed a family.

They’re our neighbours, our child’s teacher, the people we run into at the supermarket on any ordinary day….

But make no mistake. There’s nothing ordinary about the place they hold in the heart of their adopted and chosen child, or the difference they make in that child’s life.

We must also take time this month to remember the hundreds of children in Ontario who are still waiting for an adoptive family of their own.
 
These are children who are currently in the care of Ontario’s children’s aid societies.

Some of them are older kids. 

Or siblings who want to stay together in an adoptive family. 

And some are children with special needs.

Mr. Speaker, we’re guided by the principle that children don’t suddenly stop needing the love and guidance of their family when they leave care.

That’s why finding permanent homes for children in care is so important. Not just for their today, but for their tomorrow. For our tomorrow.

These kids have so much to offer the right family. And the benefits and blessings aren’t the child’s alone. They are absolutely that for a family too.

I’ve had the honour of meeting numerous families who have adopted a child with special needs.  Let me tell you, that the love that these adoptive families have for these precious children – this would inspire any of us in this House.

Mr. Speaker, in 2006 our government made changes to the Child and Family Services Act to help more of these children settle into permanent homes more quickly.

We brought in more openness so that a child can be adopted without severing ties with their birth family.

We also brought in reforms that make it easier for relatives to provide permanent homes for children.
 
Mr. Speaker, on average more than 800 children are adopted through Ontario’s children’s aid societies every year.

Think about that for a moment…

That’s more than two children every day who find a permanent loving home. There are two kids in Ontario who today are starting a new life….who now have a permanent bedroom of their own, a permanent place at a kitchen table. 

Mr. Speaker, our changes are working. 

Fewer kids are coming into care and more are finding loving, permanent homes. 

At the same time, Mr. Speaker, just as there are children waiting for families, we know that there are families waiting for children.

Roughly one in 10 Ontarians are riding the emotional rollercoaster of infertility.

Mr. Speaker, in July 2008, I was pleased to announce an expert panel on infertility and adoption to help find solutions for people who are trying to start or expand a family.

Led by Professor David Johnston, this panel of experts will report back next year on ways to facilitate timely adoption so that more children who cannot remain with their birth parents can become part of families more quickly.

We are pleased to work with partners like the Adoption Council of Ontario – whose executive director, Pat Convery, said: “The adoption community will welcome recommendations that will help to address barriers to timely placement of children in families who are able to care for them.”

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, as Ontarians, when we think of our larger, collective family, we must include the children in the care of our children’s aid societies. 

During national adoption awareness month, I’m asking all Ontarians to take a moment to think about whether they can find room in their hearts for a child who, today, has no home to call his or her own.

Thank you. 

Additional Information:

• No additional news.