Thank you for the honour of being here today to advocate on behalf of all Canadian adoptive families and future adoptive families.
My name is Reverend Kimberly Sabourin and I am the proud mother of two stepchildren, two biological children, and one adopted child. I am also the owner of Destiny Adoption Services, a business that provides counselling and support services to people affected by adoption.
I have a dream of seeing every single one of the 30,000 adoptable children in Canada finding their “forever” family. The government is their guardian right now, and foster parents really are the heroes in our world. But each child, no matter their unique medical, emotional, or physical needs, deserves permanency, no matter their age. There are obstacles and myths surrounding adoption, and Destiny Adoption Services works on the front lines in education and awareness.
My background is also in teaching. I was both an elementary school teacher for 10 years and a vice-principal for two years, until we adopted our daughter in 2003. Then I knew my career path had to change. My motto is this: “It is better to prepare children than repair adults.” I believe that education of this generation is critical in fighting against the prejudices facing adoptive children.
My new book, Our Chosen Child, is a resource to educate children on adoption. It is a tool for adoptive families, and it is also reading material for birth mothers who are considering the option before them as they are facing an unplanned pregnancy. Giving honour and respect to birth parents is critical in the process.
In Canada, less than 2% of women facing an unplanned pregnancy will place their children for adoption. They are misinformed as well and need support and education.
I had the privilege on Sunday, November 7, of hosting an adoption Sunday at the church where I'm on staff, the Lifecentre, as the generations pastor. Our congregation of over 1,000 heard the statistics and understood the critical need, and I have received over 300 e-mails from people who had no idea of the crisis facing Canada's precious children. Adoption-friendly terminology is also important in ensuring that an adoptive family feels validated and not like a lesser type of family.
Teachers and administrators must be educated on adoption to assist the families they are working with on a daily basis. Education and awareness is the key.
I am asking the committee to help finance and launch a national public awareness campaign through public service announcements, literature, and broadcasts to promote adoption in Canada.
We've already touched on the EI, so I won't talk about that. The burden, of course, to adopt in Canada is a significant one. I will skip over that and talk about our training.
Those of us who work in the adoption field are faced with the enormous task of providing support to families who are facing a myriad of issues: fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, grief, anger, attachment, the effects of bullying, and the effects of prejudice. We need support in order to support Canada's kids.
Our current adoption system, if you've had the privilege of being a part of it, is disjointed, and that's the word I will use. We need to work toward standardizing adoption and bringing consistency to the requirements and to the process.
We all know there are three types of adoption: public, private, and international. Each one is operating independently of one another and often against one another. I speak from personal experience as well as from a consultant's experience in working with clients over the years.
We must, for the sake of this generation of children, put them first, from the timeline of becoming a crown ward to the placement in their forever family. We must focus on the best interests of Canada's kids and not the best interests of our systems. Each of their futures is directly related to the committee's action or inaction.
I look at my children, and especially my beautiful seven-year-old daughter--for those of you who do have my brief, you will see her sweet little picture. But I dream of the world I want to hand down to her, a world where Canada leads the way in its value of our children.
In summary, I would like to thank you all for the opportunity to discuss these critical needs, and I trust that God will give you the wisdom as we work toward the solutions to the issues being proposed today. I want you to know that I will be a part of the solution. I am committed to serving Canada's children.
Thank you very much.