Adoptive parents celebrate fulfillment of dreams

Stephanie Schwenke made the decision to adopt while watching commercials for Feed the Children when she was 8 years old.

The children in those commercials, she remembers, were so lonely. They just needed a little care and a little attention. They needed a home.

Now grown up, Schwenke was happy to oblige.

She joined dozens of other families from El Paso and Teller counties to rejoice in the small, smiling additions to their families at the second-annual Adoption Celebration cohosted by the El Paso County Department of Human Services.

The event marked National Adoption Month, an occasion often marked by mass adoption ceremonies or welcome parties across Colorado. Sunday’s event at Mr. Biggs Family Fun Center served as a formal party for children taken into new homes this year, as well as a chance to recognize parents who have adopted in the past.

It also came near Schwenke’s five-year anniversary of fulfilling her life-long dream.

“It’s gone by so fast,” said Schwenke, whose 5-year-old adopted daughter, Ellie, helped her family grow to four children.

Finding people willing to take on such responsibility, however, has been a bit harder to do as of late for the El Paso County Department of Human Services, which has contracts with nine agencies to adopt out children.

There were 135 children adopted in 2009 in El Paso County, a figure that is expected to drop by as much as 20 percent this year, according to Yvonne Sletta, supervisor for the county’s adoption division.

Overall, there are 549 children in foster care in the county, said Jennifer Brown, spokeswoman for the El Paso County Department of Human Services. Fifteen of those children are ready to be adopted at the moment.

In particular, the department has had a tough time finding homes for groups of siblings and teenagers.

“It’s not always an easy job,” said Sletta, herself an adoptive parent. “It can be very rewarding but it can be very heartbreaking along the way sometimes.”

The experience has been admittedly tough for Schwenke as well. But after waiting 18 months for a child to be available and another 13 months to wade through the court proceedings, Ellie finally became part of the Schwenke family.

And not a moment too soon.

“It’s so worth it,” Schwenke said.

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Call the writer at 476-1654.