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The Louisiana Department of Children and Families, along with the city of Monroe, Louisiana, took time to celebrate and thank loving families that adopted children in the recent years, and also highlighted the scores of children that are still looking for a home.

Monroe, which is located in northern Louisiana, established the month of November as Adoption Awareness Month and for good reason. The Department of Children and Families reports there are still more than 600 children throughout the state that are currently available for adoption. Photos of many of these children were displayed at the recent adoption rally, providing information on each child for prospective parents.

Monroe’s close attention to adoption has paid dividends. The city has seen numbers jump significantly from 23 adoptions in 2007 to 49 in 2010.

Even adoption attorneys concede that there are aspects of the adoption process that can prove daunting and possibly turn couples, or individuals, off from the idea. One adoption attorney in particular pointed out that it is no easy task to free a child from foster care because the department works hard to keep children with families as long as they can. Once that family arrangement no longer works for the child, attorneys and state officials work quickly to find the child a new home.

Not only can the adoption process be rewarding for the child, who is provided with a stable home and parents, but it also greatly affects parents who can either not have children or want to better a child’s life.

As a part of Adoption Awareness Month, both the department and the city highlighted an adoption success story by crowning a local couple the “Adoptive Parents of the Year.” The couple had just adopted two 6-year-old boys.

Source: The News Star, “Residents gather for adoption celebration,” Amritha Alladi, Nov. 16, 2011