CLEARFIELD – It’s a need that not many realize exists throughout west central Pennsylvania. However, dozens of kids are in need of adoptive and foster parents, and some are working to find those children homes.
Clearfield County Children and Youth Services will host an adoptive and foster parent recruitment open house Saturday for anyone interested in giving a child a permanent home. Christine Kutch of Clearfield County CYS has organized the event to bring together at least 15 agencies from throughout the area to answer questions and provide support to those interested about the process.
The event is taking place at Cen-Clear’s Clearfield Campus on Industrial Park Road from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. “As of today, we have about 125 kids on adoptpakids.org who are free for adoption and waiting for a family to adopt them,” Kutch said. Kutch said they are inviting potential parents who may have questions about the adoption process to hopefully become inspired to step up and consider bringing a kid into their home.
Trudy Lumadue is a foster parent for two brothers and said she hopes her presence in a foster kid’s life can help fill some of the voids they may be feeling through love. “Part of them is angry, [because] they have been taken out of their house, they’ve been taken away from their mom, [or] their father was gone,” Lumadue said. “Different people in their life are just gone.”
Emily Conklin understands the struggles that can be faced by kids in foster care or waiting for adoption. She entered the foster care of Larry and Michelle Conklin in 2010 and a year later was adopted by them. “It’s so amazing that I don’t have to be without parent and go to different foster homes and stuff,” Emily said.
“It’s amazing and wonderful.” “One of the first things she said to me [was] ‘I hope this is my last move,’” Michelle said. Agencies that serve Blair, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson and Mifflin will be present at the event. Additional information can be found through the Clearfield County CYS office.
Click here to watch the WJAC-TV video.