Nov 24, 2020
November is National Adoption Month, and this week’s guest is Veronica Jordan Sears, Adoption Services Branch Manager with the Division of Protection and Permanency located within the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services (DCBS). She obtained her BSW from EKU in 2001. Like many others at CHFS, Veronica names Commissioner Marta Miranda-Straub as her favorite professor.
Veronica’s duties include oversight, policy, and working with regional staff; but says adoption is one of the best parts of her job. There are currently 3,141 children in out of home care in Kentucky. 635 children are free for adoption and do not have an identified adoptive home. Approximately 425 of these young people age 13 and older do not have an identified adoptive family through no fault of their own. This year’s National Adoption Month is focused on teens.
It may come as a surprise that one doesn’t have to be married or have the perfect family to adopt. The qualification process for those age 21 and older includes: training, sufficient income, a home study, overall good health and a background check. You can learn more about adoption at adopt.ky.gov.
After 30 years in the cabinet, I am very aware that working in foster care and adoption can be discouraging. This is why confidential support services are offered to CHFS employees through the Kentucky Employee Assistance Program (KEAP). When things get hard, remember the joy you feel when you help someone else. Let’s be kind to each other, especially as we approach the holidays. And never forget how grateful I am for frontline workers helping vulnerable children across the commonwealth.