CCKids, News Channel 12 prepare to air latest series of Forever Family segments; updates previous stories

September 12, 2019

Jupiter -

It was a nice day.

Bowling balls thundered down wooden lanes of maple and pine.

Arcade games shouted their presence like carnival barkers.

Pizza pies and pitchers of soft drinks appeared on tables.

And one by one, children there for a morning of Forever Family interviews took a turn in the bright light of a production lamp and told their stories to news cameras.

It was all part of the Forever Family program, which leverages the power of media to help get children adopted. Communities Connected for Kids has been a partner in the program since 2018 and had 25 children, including several large sibling groups featured.

Most of the children featured have been adopted, including a sibling group of six boys and girls, a group of four girls and a group of three boys.

Many people called in about those children after seeing them featured in the News Channel 12 Forever Family segment, which runs every Tuesday during the 5 p.m. newscast. But ultimately the children found homes through other means, said Rebecca Pope, adoptions specialist for Children's Home Society, which provides adoption services for CCKids.

"Most people who call after seeing them on TV haven't completed the required home study," Pope said. "By the time they complete the process, those children might no longer be available."

Pope said she uses the opportunity to ask callers to begin the approval process.

"So what we end up with is a pool of potential adoptive parents when the next children are featured," she said.

The next series of local Forever Family segments, which were video taped at Bowlero Jupiter earlier this week, will begin to run later this month and into the fall. The bowling alley and arcade opened early so the children could play and be video taped without interruption.