Wednesday's Child is an initiative to find adoptive families for children with special needs and gifts.

Every Wednesday on WLKY at noon and 6, a new Wednesday's Child segment airs, focusing on a new child or children in need of adoption.

WLKY's Liz Everman has helped almost 3,000 children find homes as a result of the program. It's won more than 45 awards, including the Adoptive Exchange Association Award for best segment of its kind in the country.

---

Wednesday's Child Website

---

Right now, more than 600 Kentucky children are living in foster homes, group homes and residential centers, waiting for adoptive families. That twice as many children compared to just three years ago. Most are school-aged and some have physical, mental or emotional disabilities. Many have experienced some degree of neglect or abuse and some are brothers and sisters who want to stay together. Their common bond is a strong desire to be part of a permanent, nurturing family.

The good news is that there has been a 40 percent increase in adoptions over the past year -- 510 children were placed with new families through September of this year.

Raising children can be expensive, but there is help available for those who need it.

Wednesday's Child Inc. is an independent, all volunteer, nonprofit organization whose mission is to advocate for these children, to expand public awareness about their plight, to recruit and inform prospective adoptive parents, to help bring children and families together, and to sustain families created through adoption.

To learn more about Wednesday's Child, watch WLKY at noon and 6.