I would like to introduce to you Janet and Dave Lippert. Many of you may already know Dave, as he is pastor of Emanuel Reformed Church in Green Camp, former president of the Marion Ministerial Association, and was a candidate for County Commissioner in last spring's primary. And you may know Janet through her support and  involvement in their church and the schools.

But I'd like you to get to know Dave and Janet in the way that I know them - as community-minded residents who care passionately about the needs of abused and neglected children and individuals you can become close to just by talking and listening to them.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. As part of the State's Adoption Month activities, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) sponsored an Adoption and Foster Care Advocate Award program. Our agency selected  the Lipperts as local recipients of this award and nominated them for state recognition. 

Janet and Dave were foster parents for Children Services for 5½ years, fostering 13 children during that time. The majority of these children had special behavioral and emotional needs.  Janet also worked with us to train new foster parents, and she mentored many who were going through tough times. 

When our agency placed three older children with them who had serious needs, Janet researched and used behavior modification techniques that really helped. She also shared what she had learned by teaching the techniques to other foster parents.

When these three children became available for adoption, Janet and Dave felt called to adopt them, knowing that if they didn't, the two who were siblings probably would have been split up. For the third child, they knew that the likelihood of adoption would be slim if they did not adopt him. Their home may have been the only hope of permanency these children had.

The Lipperts had already raised two children of their own and were "empty nesters" when they adopted these three. Although they decided not to continue to foster other children due to their adoptive children's needs, their commitment to foster and adoptive parenting continued. 

Dave has actively partnered with our agency in reaching out to churches and pastors to share the need for more foster/adoptive homes. He shares the calling that he and Janet have, and their belief that caring for abused or neglected children is as much a mission of the church as it is a responsibility of the state. 

According to Dave, people of faith should be involved in protecting children and strengthening families in any and every way they can.  He also believes that a commitment to an abused or neglected child can have a positive impact on that child for the rest of his or her life.

You often hear in the news these days about community heroes: the pro football player who visits kids with terminal illnesses; the philanthropist who builds a new wing on the hospital; or the firefighter, policeman, or EMT who saves someone's life or does some other heroic deed.

Well, add foster/adoptive parents to that list. 

Foster/adoptive parents open their hearts and homes to children in need, giving of themselves in a very personal way. On behalf of the staff, board, and the families we serve, I would like to salute and applaud Janet and Dave, as well as all of our current foster families, our adoptive families, and all those who have fostered or adopted children in the past.
Because of their involvement, commitment, and ongoing advocacy for children and families plagued by child abuse and neglect, Janet and Dave Lippert are community heroes in the truest sense. Join me in recognizing them publicly at Emanuel Reformed Church on Sunday, November 14, during the morning worship service at 9:30 a.m.