Adoptive parents praised

By Sean Barron

YOUNGSTOWN — Thanks to one family’s efforts and love for children, the odds that several at-risk youngsters will thrive have likely been enhanced.

“We knew it was the right thing to do. How could you turn down children?” said the Rev. Tarone Claybrook, pastor of Heart Reach Ministries on the city’s North Side.

Beginning about five years ago, the Rev. Mr. Claybrook and his wife, Danetta, decided to adopt four youngsters age 3 to 15, two of whom have special needs. The Boardman couple was financially stable and felt they were in a position to stave off the children’s becoming further delayed or possibly at greater risk for criminal behavior and other problems, Mr. Claybrook explained.

The Claybrooks were among more than 100 adoptive and foster parents, young people, clergy members and others at Saturday’s One Church-One Child celebration brunch at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 707 Arlington Ave., on the North Side. The program, hosted by Mahoning County Children Services, also recognized November as National Adoption Month.

One Church One Child is a national organization founded in 1980 in Chicago. The local chapter, run by the county Children Services Board, aims to provide a caring, stable and loving home for children in the county through partnerships with faith-based organizations and churches to recruit families willing to adopt and/or foster.

“We’re not looking for perfect parents, just good parents,” said John Jemison, a resource coordinator for the local OCOC.

Mahoning County has roughly 200 children in foster care, 51 in residential care and about 20 waiting to be adopted.

The county also includes an estimated 400 churches, 21 of which have become partners in One Church One Child since it got under way here about two years ago, Jemison noted. Heart Reach is one.

The others are Alpha and Omega, Antioch, Beulah, Elizabeth Missionary, Holy Trinity Missionary, Jerusalem, Mount Zion, Mount Gilead, New Hope, Philips Memorial, Rising Star, Shiloh and Tabernacle Baptist churches; Holy Bible and New Springfield Churches of God; Metro Assembly of God; Price Memorial AME Zion; St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic; St. Michael; and Victory Christian Center.

Keynote speaker Judge Michael J. Ryan of Cleveland Municipal Court shared several early tragedies in his life, including the deaths of his mother at 28 and long periods of isolation and little or no food and 11 schools. He credited a year of living with his grandmother and her consistent love and protection with providing stability, confidence and hope, he said.

That stability, nurturing, encouragement, love and understanding are what children need, he said. The judge also praised foster and adoptive families for stepping in to help youngsters reach their potential, as well as those who made sacrifices on his behalf.

Founded in 1980 by Father George Clements of Chicago, who became the first priest to adopt a child.

Originally dedicated to finding parents for homeless black and biracial children.

Has placed more than 200,000 kids in homes across the country.

Conducts extensive background checks on potential foster and/or adoptive parents.

Source: OCOC