Family Service Center of South Carolina

Special Needs Adoption Services

Success Story - Finding a Place to Call Home...

Imagine waking up one day and life as you know it is no longer. Unfamiliar places and faces surround you, and all you know is that you and your siblings can’t live with your grandparents anymore. Although eventually everything is explained to you by someone called your “case worker,” you still never fully understand why things had to turn out the way they did for you and your siblings.

They tried to place you and one of your siblings together. They told you the other one needed a lot of help and couldn’t live with you right now. You worry about the sibling that is not with you, but you’re thankful that at least someone familiar is with you in this place they call a “foster home.” But wait, your sibling living with you is having a hard time adjusting, and your “foster parents” say that she can’t live there anymore.

Now you feel completely alone in a house full of strangers, and it doesn’t take long for that to be a recurrent cycle in your life. Your life is now being planned by other people. Since they tell you they have your best interest at heart, you do what they say to the best of your abilities. Next thing you know, somebody called an “adoption worker” steps in and tells you that she wants to help find you a “forever family.” The worker explains to you what adoption means, and you feel like it could be a good thing. You’re getting tired of lugging bags of clothes around, and some stability would probably be a good thing.

Then you play the waiting game, waiting for that “forever family” to come along. Months and months go by, which feels more like years and years to you, and still no family. It’s time to call in the reinforcement. Your adoption worker introduces you to someone called an “adoption recruitment worker,” who explains to you that you are now part of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids. She tells you that her job is to also help find you a family. She visits with you every month, and you start to see that she’s a pretty cool person. She talks with you about what she is doing to help find you a family and even lets you help her with the recruitment plan. She helps you complete your life book with details and pictures, and she explains some of the things you never quite understood about adoption. Although difficult at times and even depressing, you manage to stay afloat and believe that this thing called adoption is going to happen for you. Eventually it does.

You are introduced to a family through pictures and told lots of different information about them. Pretty soon you get to meet them in person and, before you know it, day visits turn into overnight visits. This family seems so awesome, and you feel like this is somewhere you belong. You even have a younger sister and you think being a big brother is such a cool thing. You have a mom and dad who spend time with you and do what they can to show you how much they want you to be a part of their family. Before you know it, you are lugging those bags of clothes for the last time because you have finally found a place to call “home.” Children Unlimited, a division of Family Service Center of SC 07/20/09

FSC’s Children Unlimited program is dedicated to the belief that children develop and mature best in families. The agency provides individualized assessment of children and families leading to adoption, reunification, or other specialized services needed to achieve and maintain permanency for children.

FSC’s Children Unlimited program recruits, maintains, supports, and strengthens the family unit created through adoption.

Children Unlimited takes pride in maintaining honest, flexible, and respectful relationships with families; and provides leadership in the field of special needs adoptions by demonstrating innovative approaches to service delivery which results in secure futures for children.

About the Division:

Children Unlimited was established in July 1977 by adoptive parents, social workers, and concerned citizens to meet the needs of children with special needs. Since that time, Children Unlimited has placed hundreds of children throughout the state of South Carolina in adoptive homes. In 1978, Children Unlimited was elected as a member of the Family Builders Network, a national network of agencies specializing in adoptive placements for children with special needs. Children Unlimited is accredited by the Council on Accreditation. Children Unlimited of FSC is the local adoption partner for Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, a national program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

In February of 2004 CU merged with Family Service Center of SC. We are now a division of this large non-profit. Our services remain the same but we will now have more resources for families. We are excited about this growth and look forward to providing even more services to families!

Purpose

Children Unlimited is dedicated to the belief that children develop and mature best in families. The agency provides individualized assessment of children leading to adoption or other specialized services needed to achieve and maintain permanency for children. Children Unlimited takes pride in maintaining honest, flexible, and respectful relationships with families; and provides leadership in the field of special needs adoptions by demonstrating innovative approaches to service delivery which results in secure futures for children.

Volunteer Opportunities

No matter how you become involved, you are giving a child the opportunity to experience family life when he would otherwise not ordinarily get one. You make a difference. You can provide support by assisting with fundraising, by volunteering your time, or by providing in-kind donations. Join Children Unlimited in continuing to give waiting children Unlimited Futures! Click here for Volunteer Opportunities.

Corporate Sponsors

Corporate Sponsors assist Children Unlimited by allowing the agency to place an article, insert, or bulletin into their outgoing agency mail, newsletter, or website. These information vehicles allow Children Unlimited to dispel myths regarding adoption and foster care, give a broad overview of children with special needs, and answer some commonly asked questions regarding the adoption process. Corporate sponsorship enables us to reach more prospective adoptive and foster families statewide.

2712 Middleburg Drive | Suite 207-A | Columbia, SC 29204 | 1-800-922-5651 | 803-733-5450