Adopt a Child month luncheon brings families together

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Story Published: Nov 24, 2009 at 10:16 AM PDT

By Dan Bain KPIC News

ROSEBURG, Ore. -- Parents of adopted children gathered at Roseburg High School on Saturday, to celebrate national Adopt a Child Month.

The parents and the children talked about how their lives had changed at the luncheon.

Many of the parents had adopted more than one child, like Meg and Randy Burnham, who have two young girls, Hannah and Tarah. "One of the most important reasons why we decided to adopt would be to increase our family, to give some opportunities to some young children that may not have those opportunities, and then ultimately just become a stronger and better family. That was our ultimate goal," said Randy Burnham.

Sandy DeVoogd not only adopted children, but also is an adoption worker in Douglas Cunty, so she knows how the process works. "I now have kind of an idea about the personal perspective as an adoptive parent, and so, as an adoptive worker I try to show a lot of respect when I'm interviewing my family, because the difficulty I found with the adoption process personally, is that it's very personal."

Meg Burnham says you have to be patient going through the process, because it can take a while. "When you make a decision to adopt through either a private or non-profit agency, you're ready to go, you made that decision, you're ready to go, you have your family set in mind, and the process of waiting is very difficult, and it's very easy to become impatient."

DeVoogd says parents who are interested in adopting a child, should contact the child welfare program, and they will send a packet of information that will guide you through the process.

She says much of the information is also on the internet.

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