The Home of the Guardian Angel has stopped doing adoptions after 125 years.Sounds like a happy story to me, just like the stories of less babies available for adoption from China are happy stories -- as long as the reason there are fewer babies is that more parents are deciding to parent, how can we be sorry about it?
Executive director Donna Williamson said times have changed and there isn’t enough sustainable funding to run the not-for-profit program.
Operating through the Chebucto Family Centre in Spryfield, the child placement agency transferred its responsibility to the province’s Department of Community Services in April. The Home of the Guardian Angel provided shelter and counselling to metro women who wanted to place their babies for adoption.
Williamson said only five or six babies were being adopted each year.
“Twenty years ago, we were doing 50 or 60 placements a year. I’ve been here since 2005 and the most we’ve ever done in one year is 10. And there was a year where we only placed one baby,” Williamson said.
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Nearing also noted that the number of young women putting their babies up for adoption has decreased “dramatically” over the years. “In any given year, we wouldn’t expect any more than a dozen, maybe 10 a year.”
“No. 1, we see more young women parenting their children,” Nearing said. “There are more supports in our community to assist them in doing that. Over time, there has been better access to birth control so that teen pregnancies aren’t occurring as often.”
Adoption Initiative Conference 2022
2 years ago
4 comments:
We can be sorry if the babies are being aborted. But we don't know how many of the babies that would have been adopted 20 yrs ago are being aborted today.
Canada has much better support services available to parents.
You have a years unemployment insurance AND your job to return to (obviously you had to be employed (they can't fire you for being pregnant).
You get a monthly well baby check (originally created to ensure milk money).
You have extremely low cost or no cost universal health care.
Some provinces / perhaps all provinces assist with day care expenses.
There are checks to refund the GST tax to lower income groups.
Sure I am missing other services.
None of the above would be what is considered welfare in the states - they are income based and apply to both single and married parents.
Canada also has paid parental leave - 9 months at 96% of your salary! For use by either parent (I got to stay home when my wife had Kid#3) or that can be split however your want between both parents, i.e. mom & dad can split the 9 mos.
Women are also entitled to an additional 3 mos (also 96% of salary) of medical leave following the birth of a baby.
It is VERY civilized.
Also, if you happen to live in Quebec (I live in Ontario but work just across the bridge in Quebec), you are also entitled to $7 per day per kid daycare. Licensed by the province, taught by certified teachers.
Many of my Quebec-dwelling colleagues have kids in the $7 daycare in our building, and are welcome to go downstairs and have lunch with their kiddos anytime they like. Also very civilized. (the daycare 'round here, and in most but not all parts of QC, is 100% in French).
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