Blog

Due to neglect, Kyleigh was placed into foster care at 12 years old. Her biological dad had just passed away, and her stepmother was unable to care for her. On the night she came into the system, she met her foster parent, Brittany.

While Kyleigh was in care, her stepmother passed away. This made reunification with her family of origin impossible.

Being a single parent, Brittany wasn’t sure she could be all the things that Kyleigh needed. That’s when Kyleigh moved into a two-parent home as a pre-adoption placement. 

“I knew it wasn’t working out. I could just tell,” Kyleigh said about that pre-adoptive home. She was right. The family decided not to move forward with adoption, and Kyleigh returned to Brittany.

“After the failed adoptive placement in a two-parent home, I realized that I had a connection and love for Kyleigh,” Brittany said. “I decided to lay down my fear and moved forward with adoption.”

Kyleigh (adopted at 14) and Brittany (mom)

Morgan, Kyleigh’s  Wendy’s Wonderful Kids^® recruiter, helped create a space for Kyleigh to navigate her transition and empower Brittany to step into motherhood.

Since the adoption, Kyleigh is excited about her future.

“I want to be a teacher,” Kyleigh said. “And if I didn’t have a parent, then I don’t think that would’ve been possible. But now that I have a forever home, I feel like it’s easy.”

Being a single foster or adoptive parent is hard — and worth it. For any single parents looking to step into foster or adopt, Brittany shares words of encouragement.

“Becoming a mom through foster care and adoption wasn’t my idea of what I thought motherhood would be like,” said Brittany. “But it’s also been really beautiful to have different experience and a different story to share. You get to enter into someone’s life in a really impactful and pivotal way.”

Every child deserves a safe, loving and permanent home. To learn more about how to adopt from foster care, download our Step-by-Step Guide to Adoption.