Waiting Children

This term generally refers to children, who have become legally available for adoption. They will generally be under the legal jurisdiction and care of public foster care agencies, and will have come into the foster care system for a variety of reasons, which could include neglect, abandonment, abuse and/or some other dysfunction within their family environment.

Waiting children may or may not have developed emotional and/or behavioral reactions to these experiences, and may or may not be physically or developmentally challenges or delayed as a natural result of what they have been through.

Some waiting children will have siblings who are also available for adoption, and who would prefer to stay together as a family unit. Two things that all "Waiting Children" will have in common are: 1) their need to become a permanent part of a responsible and nurturing family, where they will be loved and encouraged to achieve their full potential, and 2) although imperfect and most often challenging, they can bring tremendous joy and satisfaction for their new families.

Exposure of children and youth in foster care (where permitted by law) who have been legally released for adoption (waiting children) through print, online, and other media photos and profiles is done to create interest, often because they have special needs, thus making them hard to place (such a sad term). Unfortunately, there are thousands upon thousands of children and youth waiting for their loving family.

Here at OCOCOFMD, we are unable to make available thel photolisting on the Internet.