Children Awaiting Parents

Children Awaiting Parents is a national information and referral service dedicated to finding permanent adoptive families for America's Special Needs children who have been abandoned, neglected and abused.

Why do we exist?

Children Awaiting Parents, Inc. (CAP) is a national adoption information, referral and publishing service (The CAP Book) dedicated to finding permanent adoptive families for waiting children.

CAP publishes The CAP Book, which is the only national photo listing of children with special needs. These are children who have languished in the foster care system and require national recruitment efforts in order to find adoptive families. CAP also supplies general information on adoption and assists prospective families with the adoption process by referring them to adoption agencies and adoptive parent groups in their area.

Children Awaiting Parents, Inc. acts as a clearinghouse for inquiries regarding waiting children from adoption case workers, prospective adoptive families with state licenses to adopt, and adoptive parent group representatives, directing them to the appropriate agency and contact. Along with publication in The CAP Book, agencies and adoption workers may also authorize CAP to do child-specific recruitment on a national level in the form of television appearances and highlights in newspapers and magazines.

What have you accomplished?

In 1969, after receiving a request from the Monroe County Adoption Unit, a select group of adoptive parents met to form a group called the Council of Adoptive Parents, with the task of finding adoptive homes for the local children languishing in institutions or foster care. This group incorporated to become Children Awaiting Parents, Inc. in 1972 and began publishing The CAP Book.

Recruiting adoptive families through a directory of waiting children's photos and biographies proved so successful that The CAP Book expanded into a state, then regional, and finally into a national listing. The CAP Book, which currently features over 500 children, can be seen in 44 states and found in adoption agencies, adoptive parent groups and libraries. Personal subscriptions are also offered.

In 1975, CAP accomplished a major legislative victory. The New York State Legislature passed a bill requiring the photo listing of all children legally free for adoption who had been in foster care for over 90 days. In 1976, the NYS Department of Social Services created its own photo listing book modeled after The CAP Book and CAP assisted with its implementation. During the 1980’s CAP consulted with several states to help them establish their own state and regional photo listing services.

Since its inception, CAP has photo listed over 9,500 children. Half of these children have been placed in permanent adoptive homes; a quarter of the placements are directly due to CAP's involvement. Roughly 3,500 adults are served annually through CAP's adoption information, troubleshooting and support services, and 13,000 via The CAP Book and the Adoption Link newsletter.

Life is full of surprising twists, turns and chance meetings. Some might talk of fate and others of God's will. No matter how one views this life story, Children Awaiting Parents (CAP) is proud to bring it to you and of the small part it played in the life of Angel Quintero.

At a CAP interagency meeting of local adoption organizations, we were thrilled to see Angel -- a former CAP child -- and to learn that he is working to help youngsters in the child welfare system. Angel is the coordinator for foster care and adoption at the Ibero-American Action League, Inc. in Rochester, New York.

In 1986, Angel, at age 13, had been photo listed in The CAP Book along with his brother and two sisters. We met Angel personally when he was 14. He and his Dad, Bill Cook, appeared with CAP's Executive Director Peggy Soule on local TV to speak about adoption. Angel said on the show, "Being adopted by Bill felt right."

Dr. Bill Cook, a history professor at the State University of New York at Geneseo, used to stop by the CAP office to look through photo listing books. Angel's CAP Book page listed him as "a well-mannered youngster with above average intelligence. He has been president of his 8th grade class and has received academic and athletic awards."

Angel had had a long journey through the child welfare system. Born in New York City, he entered foster care at age two and a half because of abuse. He, and his brother and sisters, lived with several foster families. They stayed with one foster family for about seven years, three or four of which were spent in Puerto Rico when the foster family moved. The children were eventually removed from the family because of various issues and were placed separately with other foster families in New York.

When Bill found him, Angel was reluctant to be adopted. After the many bad experiences, Angel said, "I didn't want to be adopted. I felt I'd had enough of foster care and the adoption system. I wanted to be on my own." According to Angel, "The first two to three years were tough. I acted out - classic textbook tests - to see if Bill would still be around. I consider Bill, along with my siblings, both birth and adopted, my true family. Bill has been there for me and I call him my Dad when I speak of him, even though I call him Bill.” Angel is frequently in touch with his brother and sisters.

CAP is proud and very happy to be working with one of its former CAP kids. Angel's experience in the system, insight, intelligence and patience, makes him an invaluable resource for children and workers alike.

	How do you help people in my community?		Why do you need my support?
	How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?		Can I Volunteer? How?