Adoption Blog Archives by Date Blog
Throughout National Adoption Month we've highlighted some of our incredible adoptive families! The Emery Family has adopted 4 siblings at different times that have had their own medical challenges. Jerry and Belinda were there every step of the way for their children through every circumstance.

Meet the Dibrango Family! Kimberly and Joellen are both teachers and have always had a heart to help kids. When they were online, they saw one of our 13-year old teen girls available for adoption and realized that they knew her! It didn't take long for them to make the decision that they had room in their heart and home to give the gift of a family to a teen!

Yesterday, the Polk County Courthouse was full of families, friends, kids and our adoption teams to celebrate our families who finalized their adoptions! We love getting to celebrate these beautiful milestones for our children and families!
Congratulations to the Boarman, Romero and White families!

In March 2022, the Banse Family welcomed a brother and sister, ages 7 and 8, to their family and providing their forever home! They surrounded the children with love, support and telling them "you are good enough and we want you." The children are now thriving in their adoptive home and have made many gains.

In the last ten[+] years, Heartland for Children has established strong community partnerships and effective programs that have positively impacted our tri-county area. Under their leadership, child abuse has decreased. This change has been a result of strong commitment to prevention and evidence based programs. Additionally, their focus on trauma focused care has made a tremendous impact on children and families that have experienced abuse, neglect, and out of home placements. Heartland for Children is the model of community based care for our state.
As a social worker who was involved in the transition to this model of care in our state, I fully support and endorse their continued work and leadership in Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties.
Mary Jo Plews - Former Executive Director, Healthy Start Coalition