Michael Fields cannot wait to be an adoptive parent.

“We just want to make a difference in another child’s life,” Fields said.

He and his wife of six years, Lilly Fields, attended the closing reception for the Heart Gallery of Alabama’s photograph display at the Selma-Dallas County Public Library to learn more about the adoption process.

The Heart Gallery’s mission is to get a child’s face out to the public. Children are photographed and the image is framed for the collection so potential parents can see the child is more than a descriptive paragraph.

Four children from the gallery displayed at the library were placed in permanent homes during the month of September.

To signify their impending adoption, a pink heart with the term “found forever family” was placed in the frame of the photo.

Only 17 photos were placed here, a small portion of the total children seeking adoption through the Heart Gallery.

No children in the gallery displayed here are from Dallas County, but one child a part of the Heart Gallery is from Dallas County. This is intentional to protect the confidentiality of the child.

“When we started five years ago we were happy if one child had found a home then we would have made a difference,” said Michelle Bearman-Wolnek, executive director of the Heart Gallery of Alabama. “We know it doesn’t matter if it’s a group, a large group, a small community or a large community, all it takes is one person to hear that story and go out and tell somebody else and let people know the joys and the challenges of adopting and fostering.”

Speakers from the Children’s Aid Society of Alabama Pre and Post Adoption Connections, state Office of Adoption and Dallas County Department of Human Resources informed prospective parents of the process to adopt or foster children.

“I would like to adopt and watch them grow and be right there,” Fields said. “They’ll get plenty of love and attention, along with the good things in life of guidelines, patterns and responsibilities.”

He does not have any children biologically and he and his wife cannot have children for medical reasons.

“We’ll start with one, but we might be knocking down a wall,” to make more space for more children, Fields said.

Most children in the gallery are between the ages of 8 and 14 years. All live in foster care in Alabama and most would prefer to remain in the state when adopted to be near family members, said Bearman-Wolnek.

More than 7,000 children are in foster care in the state. About 90 percent of these children will go back to their biological families.

Of the 10 percent available for adoption, about 60 percent will be adopted by their foster parents. Children in the gallery make up the remaining portion.

More than 185 children have been adopted in the state since the Heart Gallery started in Alabama in 2005. The national Heart Gallery started in 2001 and has offices in Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Arkansas, Kansas, California, New York, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Although the gallery is no longer at the library, all photographs, biographies and video interviews are available at www.heartgalleryalabama.com.

For more information, call 205-445-1293.