I'm going to start.
Good morning, Madam Chair. The two of us will be making the presentation, so I'll be quite brief.
Back in 2001, I was at the department. Today I am a volunteer. In 2001, we had 1,200 children under our care, 800 of whom were legally available for adoption. There was an eight-year waiting period for parents wishing to adopt young children. The number continued to increase. The idea arose of establishing the New Brunswick Adoption Foundation.
The New Brunswick Adoption Foundation was created in 2002 to raise public awareness. Senator Erminie Cohen became the chair of the foundation. She became the best advocate for children in care waiting for an adoptive family. A major public awareness campaign was launched under her leadership.
Since our creation, the adoption rate in New Brunswick has increased by 400%. Prior to 2002 there were only 25 kids on average adopted in New Brunswick. Now there have been over 800 children placed in adoptive homes.
I must say that at the time I was DM of the social development department, the political arm of the department was quite on board. And every time Premier Lord gave his annual state address, he gave an update on adoption. Also, Senator Percy Mockler talked about adoption at every opportunity he had. It was a priority from the top down.
Despite the success, we have come to realize that more is needed. There are still hundreds of children in care in New Brunswick, many of whom are reaching adulthood without permanent family.
I want to tell you a short story. There was a little seven-year-old boy who was asked to make a wish list a month before Christmas. At the top of his list was permanent parents. He had all kinds of hockey equipment. A year later, a home had not been found. He was quite disappointed. He said, “What about if I shorten my list? I would give all of my hockey equipment to have permanent parents. That's what I want.” Now, obviously, he's been adopted.
If you think for a moment about your own experience as a child or young person, and even as an adult, it's difficult to imagine how any of us would be where we are today without the love and support of our family. But we have kids in the system who don't have these kinds of opportunities.
What is needed? Families who have adopted, or are considering adoption and are waiting to adopt, need peer-to-peer support.
I repeat: these families need peer-to-peer support.
The New Brunswick Adoption Foundation is about to embark on a pilot project, a peer-to-peer support network for adoptive families. The aim of the pilot is to set up a program in the Moncton region of New Brunswick. Through the work of an experienced adoptive parent as coordinator, a volunteer network of experienced adoptive parents will be developed as well. The aim is to provide support to people considering adoption or in the process of adopting, and to families who have adopted.
Research on similar programs has illustrated not only that people value the support, but also that the support can proactively prevent disruptions to adoptions. As one parent who participated in a similar program stated, “For the first time I have come close to considering disruption. I am fighting to keep this adoption viable, and that is due to the support my parent-to-parent network provides. Otherwise, it would be too tough.“
Our vision is to expand this network throughout New Brunswick. The adoption foundation will play a big role. Although this program is based on similar models in the U.S. and British Columbia, it is also inspired by the family resource centre programs funded through Health Canada's community action program for children, or CAPC, which I imagine some of you know.
We recommend that a fund for a similar program be available for communities across Canada.
I will turn now to Suzanne.