Adoption agency urges families to consider adopting teens

The Adoptive Families Association of B.C. is asking families to consider adopting teens or youth before those children age out of the care system.

"We need families for life," says executive director Karen Madeiros. "We don't just need families up to age of 19."

Almost 40 per cent of children who were up for adoption in B.C. last year were aged 12 and over, according to the association.

Madeiros says the reality is some kids will never get matched, and those who do not get adopted by their 19th birthday age out of foster care. 

"In the general public, kids aren't leaving home until 24, 26 or 28 and so to have a 19-year-old out on their own, unattached to a family can be tough," she said. 

She acknowledges that many families who are thinking about adopting picture themselves with a young child or baby. 

"It's not for the faint-hearted. Certainly, it takes a unique perspective adoptive parent, who is willing to take a lot longer to connect with a child," she said. 

But she says with older children, it's easier to judge what you are in for. 

"They are like an open book," she said. 

"When you look at a two or three year old, you don't know what is coming," she said. "But for an older child, you know what is happening, where they are going, what their interests are."

Last year in B.C. there were 941 children up for adoption. Of those, only 265 have been adopted.

To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled Adoption agency urges families to consider adopting teens with the CBC's Rick Cluff on The Early Edition.