November is Adoption Awareness Month in Illinois, a time to acknowledge the thousands of families across the state that have opened their hearts and homes to children in need, promote adoption awareness and celebrate the connection every Illinoisan has to adoption. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and Illinois Adoption Advisory Council’s “What’s your connection?” statewide campaign encourages the public to share their connection to adoption by printing coloring sheets with their children, placing them in windows or on doors and sharing photos on social media. Last fiscal year 1,523 Illinois children were adopted into permanent, loving families. Today there are over 18,000 youth in care waiting for a family and place to call home. To learn more about some of them, visit the Heart Gallery of Illinois at https://greenlightfamilyservices.org/heartgalleryofil/. For more information about becoming an adoptive parent, visit www2.Illinois.gov/dcfs and click on “Loving Homes” then on “Become a Foster or Adoptive Parent.”