Kristopher and Kimberly Florence are two of the luckiest kids in Indianapolis. They haven’t received a full scholarship to attend college or a free trip to Disney World. Kristopher, 7, hasn’t met his favorite rapper Lil’ Wayne and Kimberly, 4, hasn’t danced alongside her favorite singer Willow Smith whipping her hair.
They are lucky because they are African-American children and were adopted. According to the Children’s Bureau Inc. there are currently 160 African-American children available for adoption in Indiana. The number is a working number considering children who are placed in a family and children added to the list daily. Additionally, the number does not include infants or younger children.
“There is a very high need for African-American families to adopt,” said Terri Gee, director of Adoption Recruitment and Retention at the Children’s Bureau Inc. “I can’t put my finger on the reason.”
However, Gee is trying. In June, at a match event where staff recommended families and children gather in natural environments such as bowling, putt-putt golf or rock climbing to encourage adoption, Gee noticed seven African-American teen-age boys surrounded by white families.
“Just knowing how uncomfortable those boys were throughout that day knowing that they would prefer to be with their own race was hard,” she said. “It kind of struck me at that moment that something had to be done.”
One of the ways Gee is trying to recruit more Black families is through educational sessions provided by adoption champions, which are individuals who recruit families throughout Indiana. Each adoption champion is required to complete four educational sessions a year and one has to be minority focused.
“Completing one of those sessions is part of each adoption champion contract because I see the need everyday,” said Gee.
Norma Florence saw the need as well. After she retired from the post office in 1992 she began to get a little bored sitting around the house by herself. Florence, 72, had already successfully raised three sons on her own and decided to open her home as a day care for parents needing to work during the day. After running a day care for 10 years, Florence was asked by a friend to consider foster care. The first child she opened her home to was Kristopher. His mother was dependent on drugs and Florence brought him home from the hospital. Two years later she adopted him.
“I was only going to take in a couple of children but in the four years I was a foster parent, I had that many,” she said pointing to a collage of about 15 or 20 children hanging on the wall. “It got to be a habit with me.”
A couple of years after adopting Kristopher, Florence received a phone call asking if she would take in Kimberly, Kristopher’s biological sister because their mother was trying to sell her for drugs. Kimberly was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and was cocaine positive. Kristopher was cocaine positive as well.
“I adopted her because they were brother and sister and I wanted them to grow up together,” she said.
Gee longs for adoptive parents like Florence. Not only is she African-American but also she saw the need to adopt siblings. That is a rarity, she said.
Although Gee can’t pinpoint exactly why more Black families do not adopt, LaDortha Mitchell, one of Children’s Bureau’s adoption champions, who is Black believes there are several reasons.
“First, the campaigns aren’t targeted towards African-Americans,” she said. “I don’t think (African-Americans) realize how many kids of color are in the system, especially in Indiana. If you want someone of color to adopt, you have to target the information specifically to them.”
There is also the barrier of cost. Gee and Mitchell believe there is a misconception that adoption is expensive. The fact is it depends on the type of adoption. If someone wants to adopt a child in the foster care system, the approximate cost is $0 to $1,500. A private agency adoption can range from $6,000 to $25,000 and an independent adoption can cost $5,000 to $40,000.
While there is also per diem rates available, Gee hopes that those looking to adopt do so with a heart that mirrors Florence’s who said she became a foster parent and decided to adopt for the children, not the money.
“My mother likes to help people and she’ll do whatever she can to help. That is one of the things I look up to her about,” said Florence’s oldest son, Michael Florence. “I give my mother all the credit in the world.”
Florence hopes to live long enough to see Kristopher and Kimberly graduate from high school, but if not, she has taken the necessary steps to make sure they stay together.
“If something happens to my mother, they will come live with me,” said Michael. “If something happens to me, my younger brother will raise them and if something happens to him, my youngest brother will raise them. We’ve made sure they will always be taken care of.”
