PERSPECTIVES
Consider Adoption Hundreds of great kids in the Bay State are looking for loving families. By
Diane Tomaz
Veronica and Ryan At any given moare not exceptions. There ment, there are 600 chilare children who, based dren and youth living in on their background, foster care in Massachuexperiences, or birth famsetts and waiting to be ily connections, would adopted. thrive with a single parThey are blossoming ent or couple. And the artists, athletes, and acachildren, for their part, demics in need of parents have little interest in the who will nurture their insexual orientation or genterests, encourage their der identity of their talents, and open up more adoptive parents. They avenues for them to suchope to grow up in a safe ceed. The majority of place they can call home, them are school-aged, and with a family they many of them are children can call their own. of color, and some are sibThe most important ling groups who want and qualities in a prospective need to stay together. Deparent, according to spite their experiences of Tom Scott, Scott Sandagato, and their kids celebrate a graduation in the family! adoption professionals abuse and/or neglect, they Credit: Courtesy of MARE. tend to be very resilient. and adoptive parents They are children like 16-year-old Veronica, who is learning alike, are a good sense of humor, the ability to balance a stable how to cook, loves listening to her iPod, and has an infectious laugh. lifestyle with some flexibility, and openness to the unknown. Her social worker feels she would do well with a single mother or LGBT parents can certainly be the loving, committed individuals our children need. In fact, many social workers recognize the bentwo moms. Or Ryan, a six-year-old boy, who is learning to play piano, excels efits of placing children in LGBT-headed households. Last year, in school, and wants to keep in touch with his siblings. His social 196 waiting young people throughout the Commonwealth joined worker is looking for the right single father or two dads to parent him. permanent adoptive families thanks to the work of the Massachu-
148 | Boston Pride 2016
