Lighting the Way to Safe, Permanent Homes for Children

November is National Adoption Month. Amid the opioid epidemic, with the number of Connecticut children in foster care increasing past 4,300 (after having earlier dropped below 4,000) — and with the total number of children under the juvenile court’s jurisdiction due to abuse or neglect exceeding 10,000 per year — let’s consider ways to help these young people secure safe, permanent homes.

All children deserve this, whether with their biological families, extended kin, or adoptive families. Let’s also recognize people who open their homes as foster parents, during traumatic periods of transition.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Public consciousness around adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is growing. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found six in 10 Americans experience at least one adverse experience — such as household violence, drug or alcohol or sexual abuse, or incarceration of a family member — during childhood. Nearly one in six endure four or more different types of such experiences, with women and African Americans among those at greater risk.

According to the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat, “Preventing ACEs can help children and adults…. The more types of ACEs a person has, the higher their risk for negative outcomes, which will limit their…