Big 2 News, sat down with one local family, #TeamGuillotte to learn more about their adoption journey and how they are changing the lives of three young boys at a celebration in Midland on Friday, November 8th. 

MIDLAND, Texas (Big 2/Fox 24)- In honor of National Adoption Month in November, courts across the country are celebrating with special adoption ceremonies creating forever homes and bringing visibility to the need for foster homes and adoptive families. 

“We have a shortage of foster homes, not just here, but definitely here. We have a shortage of foster homes across the country and across Texas,” said Ellen Griffith, an Associate Judge for Child Protection Court for the Permian Basin.

Griffith also said because of the shortage of foster homes, many children that enter CPS in the Permian Basin are sent to Houston or different cities in the state. It’s also common for children to change two to three homes, sometimes five or six homes before finding their forever family. 

As of September, 6,673 children and teens in state care were legally free for adoption, which includes 192 in the Midland/Odessa/San Angelo area and about half of them are living with someone who wants to adopt them, according to adoption advocates. That still leaves thousands of kids in need of a home. 

According to officials, “Last year, almost 6,100 Texas children and teens were adopted from DFPS care with 167 from the Midland area. 1,036 of children were adopted in November alone.”

There are many ways you can help children, wither through CASA, by being a volunteer court advocate for children, becoming a foster parent, or adopting children. 

For more information about adoption or ways to help, here’s a list of resources.