Photo by Lee Pulaski/Lake Powell Chronicle Michelle Tenney, coordinator for foster care and adoptions in northern Arizona, sets up some of the 16-inch by 20-inch photographs portraying Arizona children who are currently in the foster care system and seeking a permanent home. The photographs, which are part of the Arizona Heart Gallery, are on display at Page Public Library through April 12.

PAGE — The halls of the Page Public Library have a few more children in them this week, but these children might not be expressing the same laughter and joy that local children do. That’s because the children, displayed in 16-inch by 20-inch photographs, are still waiting for a loving home.

The Arizona Heart Gallery has been on display at the library since Monday. The gallery is comprised of 32 children immortalized in photographs, and these children are currently in the foster care system, permanently severed from birth families for one reason or another. Many of the children on display have been in the system for more than a year, waiting for someone to adopt them.

The photo display will also include a little information about each child. There is also contact information about the Heart Gallery, so anyone who is interested in adopting a child can apply.

Michelle Tenney, who coordinates foster care and adoptions for many communities in northern Arizona through Catholic Charities Community Services, said she asked for the Heart Gallery to come to Page in order to give rural communities a chance to see some of the Arizona children in need, hoping that someone from here might want to adopt one or more of these children.

“There’s a huge area of the state that doesn’t cover the rural areas when the gallery only shows in Flagstaff and Phoenix and Tucson,” Tenney said. “I’d really like to start getting it out in the rural areas for more exposure so that people are aware that there are children waiting to be adopted.”

More than 10,000 children are in foster care in Arizona, according to Tenney, and while many of these children will someday be reunited with their families, some will not be able to go home again. Those that are permanently severed are kept in foster care until a family comes forward to adopt them. The wait can sometimes be months or even years due to a high number of children and a low number of families looking to adopt.

“Some kids in foster care never get adopted,” Tenney said.

Potential adoptive parents have to be over 21 years old, as well as pass a criminal background check and a home safety inspection. They also must have character references and be able to show they can provide a stable home environment. “You have to have room in your home for a child,” Tenney said. “A child doesn’t necessarily have to have their own room, but they do have to have a bed, a bedroom, a place to keep their things, that kind of thing.”

Also, foster and adoptive parents have to go through 30 hours of training. The training helps potential parents to address special needs, which many children in foster care have.

“All of these kids will have special needs. They have all been removed from their families and taken into foster care, so they’ve been through some traumatic experiences,” Tenney said. “Caring for a traumatized child, it does take some special techniques that need to be taught and learned. They don’t just come naturally.”

Even if families don’t have the capability of helping a child full time, there are ways for people to assist adoptive parents in minor roles, Tenney noted.

“You can be a mentor for a foster child or a foster or adoptive parent. Some people I’ve spoke to who were foster parents 10 or 15 years ago, and they have a lot of experience, but they’re not really ready to be foster parents right now,” she said. “We can put them with the new foster parents, and they can help give them a little advice and direction.”

People can also be court-appointed special advocates for children and volunteer for foster care review boards.

“Even if you’re not ready to be a parent right now, you can assist another family,” Tenney said.

For more information about foster care, contact Tenney at (928) 645-2779. For information about adopting one of the children on display at the library, contact Arizona Heart Gallery director Marie Conti at (520) 229-0746.

On the Web: To find out more about the children whose photographs are on display at the library, go to azheartgallery.org.

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