November is National Adoption Month, a chance to raise awareness about Florida kids waiting to be adopted into a "forever" home and family.

A survey commissioned this year by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption focused on Americans' attitudes toward adoption, and found 37% of adults have at least considered adopting children, a 17% increase from five years ago.

Stefanie Thompson, an adoptive parent, got married about six years ago. She is 52 and said being a little older and without biological children, she and her husband decided to move beyond thinking about it, by adopting older kids.

"Having been a middle school teacher, I just knew that there was a calling for us to adopt kids that were teenagers," Thompson explained. "And so we did. We ended up adopting two boys, and we love them dearly. They're doing great."

Some 67% of adults surveyed believe "every child is adoptable," and 75% said more should be done to encourage adoptions of children out of foster care. The number of children in Florida's foster-care system is roughly 24,000. In 2020, about one-third could be adopted, which is more than 9,000 children who need families.

Rita Soronen, president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation, said while she is pleased to see more people becoming more receptive to adoption, more work needs to be done. Their data show the average age of a child in foster care waiting to be adopted is about nine. Yet the survey found about 60% of people preferred to adopt a child age five or younger, and only 3% said they would consider adopting a teen.

"A child goes into care, they tend to linger in care, and the older they get, the less likely that Americans are to think about adopting them," Soronen observed. "Our job is to continue to increase the awareness about the age of children waiting and the viability; that every child deserves a family."

The survey also showed 90% of adults believe more should be done to support older kids who "age out" of the foster care system, but nearly half said there are more pressing societal matters. Florida has a website promoting the benefits of adoption, complete with resources and profiles of children to help families find their perfect match, at adoptflorida.org.

The advocacy group Save the Children is working with child care providers along the Texas coast ahead of the upcoming hurricane season.

The organization has formed the Gulf Coast Resilience Network to provide child care facilities with plans and tools to help them reopen or offer services quickly after a weather-related disaster.

Militza Mezquita, senior adviser for education in emergencies for Save the Children, said by working together, the network can get families back to their normal lives sooner.

"If those child care centers can't open, kids are at home, parents are at home," Mezquita pointed out. "It just causes a sense of frustration, and we can't get back to those normal routines. And so, that's where we sort of see those breakdowns, and it really, really impacts the family, you know - truly economically, emotionally."

She explained members go through emergency preparedness training and receive assistance on how to find funding after a disaster. Psychosocial and social emotional support is also available, so parents know how to help their children cope with disaster.

The network is made up of child care and early learning centers in five states along the Gulf Coast. It has created a six-week educational curriculum, which can be used as a stopgap in case a center is damaged, or classroom materials are destroyed.

Amy Musick, managing director of early care and education for SMART Family Literacy, said being prepared before a disaster occurs is essential to getting the facilities open and operating quickly.

"We train them on, you know, how to document what's there," Musick outlined. "Take videos, take pictures, record make and model and serial numbers of important things like computers and technical equipment and what to do on their return if there is damage to the center."

The 2024 Hurricane Season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Forecasters at the private weather firm Atmospheric G2 predict it will be one of the most active on record.


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Massachusetts parents of children harmed by social media platforms are calling on Congress to advance the bipartisan "Kids Online Safety Act."

The bill would require platforms to default to their most restrictive parental controls, creating a "duty of care" to protect children but it has been months since an emotional Senate hearing, when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered a public apology.

Deb Schmill, president of the Becca Schmill Foundation in Needham, whose daughter died of an accidental drug overdose after being relentlessly cyberbullied, said Congress cannot wait.

"It's going to be very upsetting to the parents, to so many people in this country who want to see this happen, they want to see Big Tech regulated," Schmill asserted. "They don't want to see kids dying every day."

Nearly 70 senators now co-sponsor the bill, including Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. A House committee is scheduled to take up the legislation this week. Tech companies have resisted wholesale change, citing free speech rights.

A growing amount of evidence points to the dangers of social media for children. Researchers said the addictive platforms incite bullying, substance abuse and other behaviors, which can lead to self-harm.

Schmill contended her 18-year-old daughter Becca would be alive today if greater protections and regulations on Big Tech were in place.

"We want to do it for our kids," Schmill emphasized. "We want to make sure that no other children die or are harmed by the same design features that have harmed our children."

The Kids Online Safety Act has undergone extensive revisions to earn the support of national LGBTQ+-plus groups concerned with censorship of content but groups in more conservative states with restrictive laws remain opposed, along with the ACLU.

Still, parents like Schmill argued, if passed, the legislation will hold social media companies liable for their products and help put the safety of young people over profits.


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More than 300,000 children have been dropped from Medicaid and Peach Care for kids since the pandemic ended.

A report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families pinpoints a nationwide trend: More than 4 million kids were left uninsured, soon after the COVID public-health emergency ended.

Georgia ranks third-highest for the number of children who have lost coverage.

Judy Fitzgerald, executive director of Voices for Georgia's Children, said many lost coverage because of procedural reasons rather than eligibility.

"They're not ineligible, but there was missing or incomplete paperwork, or what we know from families is, they felt like they didn't receive the notification, they didn't know," she said. "And so, there are a large number of children who are still eligible."

Fitzgerald said the repercussions of disenrollment can be dire, as when children can't get timely access to health-care services, they're more vulnerable to illnesses and developmental delays. The report also found parents with access to employer-sponsored health plans can't always afford the cost of adding their dependents.

While parents face higher income requirements for Medicaid, many children who lost coverage during the pandemic are still eligible. Fitzgerald said Voices for Georgia's Children is advocating for ways to increase enrollment for children, including a more simplified enrollment process and assistance from state agencies to expedite screening.

"So, we're asking the state to expand the kinds of organizations that could screen kids for eligibility, and enroll them in coverage temporarily while the state processes an official enrollment," she added, "and this is something called presumptive eligibility."

She said programs such as SNAP, and information through the Department of Labor, could be used to facilitate renewals. For families who don't qualify, she said, alternative coverage options are available through the insurance marketplace. Navigators through Georgians for a Healthy Future can help find them.