Forever family created 8/26/11
November 1, 2011
Grace had been in care for nearly five years and had been in more than 10 foster placements. She first entered the system because of neglect, physical abuse and substance abuse by the caregivers. Grace had originally been placed in an adoptive home with her three brothers out-of-state, but the family felt they couldn’t care for her. She was separated from her brothers and returned to her home state.
Grace thought she’d never want to be placed in an adoptive home again and struggled with the idea of adoption. She continued to bounce from foster home to group home and back again. Prior to her being placed out-of-state, she had spoken to a family to help them understand children in foster care before they decided to adopt. Both parents traveled for work, so they decided to wait for things to settle down before pursuing adoption.
Grace assumed she was just talking to the potential adoptive parents to help them understand children in foster care, but during the process, they became interested in adopting her. She decided to be placed with the couple and they opened their arms to her and provided the loving support she needed. Before the placement, she struggled with defiance, lack of appetite and unpredictable mood swings. But once she was placed with this couple, her mood and behavior started to stabilize, and she is off all of her medications.
Grace is now part of the family, complete with her photo on the mantel. After three short months in the home, the family knew they would be finalizing the adoption quickly. At the adoption finalization, the judge asked her if she would like to speak. She thanked everyone in her life for helping her to get where she was that day. The WWK recruiter said, “The love and commitment this family has for each other is beautiful and I am so proud of this family and Grace!”