November marks National Adoption Month, a time to honor the power of family, permanence, and healing for children who have experienced trauma, loss, or instability. While Key Assets Kentucky does not facilitate adoptions, our work with youth in care means we often walk alongside young people and families who are on that journey.
Why This Matters
Adoption isn’t just about paperwork or legal finalization – it’s about identity, connection, belonging, stability, and emotional safety. For many children who have spent time in foster care or other out-of-home placements, the transition into a permanent family can bring both joy and emotional challenges.
At Key Assets Kentucky, we serve youth through behavioral health services and community-based care programs, and we see firsthand how closely mental health is tied to permanency and connection.
What the Numbers Tell Us
In Kentucky alone, more than 8,000 children are in foster care – and about one-third of them are waiting to be adopted. In FY 2022, 1,339 children were adopted through the state system, but more than 3,000 children remained in waiting.
Digging deeper, a recent snapshot showed that 1,774 Kentucky children had a goal of adoption; 855 were legally free to be adopted, and 355 of those had no identified adoptive family. These numbers aren’t just data – they represent children in our own communities who are still waiting for permanency, connection, and care.
At the national level, adoption trends have also shifted. In FY 2023, 50,193 children were adopted from foster care across the U.S. – a 5% decline from the previous year and a 24% drop since 2019.
These figures highlight what we already know: adoption remains a critical but challenging path to permanency – and children and families need mental health support throughout the journey.
The Mental Health Connection
When a child enters foster care, they often carry invisible wounds – the trauma of separation, instability, and sometimes abuse or neglect. For many, these experiences lead to challenges with trust, emotional regulation, attachment, or identity.
Adoption, while a vital step toward healing, can also trigger new layers of grief, confusion, and adjustment. That’s why mental health support is essential, before, during, and after a child finds permanency.
At Key Assets Kentucky, our team is here to support:
- Stabilizing transitions – Helping youth ease anxiety and adjust to new homes, routines, and relationships.
- Building attachment and trust – Offering therapeutic services that support connection and emotional safety.
- Fostering resilience and self-awareness – Guiding youth through emotional regulation, coping skills, and self-esteem building.
- Supporting caregivers and families – Working alongside parents and guardians to navigate complex behaviors and emotional needs with care and understanding.
- Even when adoption isn’t part of a youth’s journey, the principles of stability, belonging, and trauma-informed mental health care remain at the heart of what we do.
How You Can Help
This month, we invite you to:
- Celebrate adoptive families and the children whose lives have changed through permanency.
- Support organizations like Key Assets Kentucky who provide the behavioral health care that helps youth and families thrive.
- Start conversations about mental health and adoption – so we continue to shift the narrative from “finding a home” to “creating healing.”
A Shared Commitment
While Key Assets Kentucky does not arrange adoptions, we believe deeply in the value of stable, nurturing relationships – and the vital role mental health plays in helping youth feel secure, seen, and supported.
This National Adoption Month, we honor every young person on a journey toward belonging, and every family showing up with love, consistency, and a willingness to walk the path together. If you’re a caregiver, advocate, or someone who believes in better outcomes for youth – thank you. You’re part of this story, too.