For Release: Thursday, August 16, 2012
Contact: David Gillies: 202-225-5661

CONGRESSMAN JERRY COSTELLO CONGRATULATES KIMBERLY ABSHER AS AN ANGEL IN ADOPTION™ TO BE RECOGNIZED AT NATIONAL EVENT IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) today congratulated Kimberly Absher of Chester as a 2012 Angel in AdoptionTM for her outstanding advocacy of foster care issues. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which orchestrates the Angels in Adoption™ program, will honor Absher, along with more than 100 Angels, at an awards ceremony on September 11 and gala event in Washington, D.C., on September 12.

The Abshers are being honored for their commitment to fostering four nieces and nephews. The children were placed in their home in 2007 and they have cared for the children since that time. They display a wonderful and loving demeanor toward the children. They treat them as their own and the children call them Dad and Mom.

The Abshers have been instrumental in obtaining the proper psychological and medical care for these children as one has been diagnosed with ADHD and ODD; one was born with a cleft palate and another born prematurely due to the mother’s substance abuse. Throughout these very challenging medical and psychological issues, the Abshers maintain a positive attitude and a willingness to do whatever it takes to provide a safe and stable home for the children.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services obtained adoptive rights of the children in 2010. Mr. and Mrs. Absher have agreed to adopt the children to make them officially their own. The children look forward to the day they are adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Absher. The children ask their case worker at every visit when they will officially be “Abshers.”

“Adoption changes lives, and the Abshers are a great example of the tremendous impact caring individuals can have on children,” said Costello. “I am happy to support this program and hope that the Abshers’ example will inspire others.”

The Angels in Adoption™ program is CCAI’s signature public awareness campaign and provides an opportunity for all members of the U.S. Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of foster children and orphans in the United States and abroad.

“The Angels in Adoption™ program is unlike any other program in the Nation’s Capital. Because of it, over 1800 “Angels” have come to share with Washington their adoption experience and left with a renewed excitement of all that adoption makes possible,” said CCAI Executive Director Kathleen Strottman. “I learned one simple lesson from my time on the hill, knowledge is power. Angels in Adoption is meant to give Members of Congress the knowledge they need to use the power they have toward making the dream of a family a reality for every child.”

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