Aging Out of Foster Care
Several foster teens share their experiences in the foster care system, being eligible for adoption, and the outcomes for themselves and sometimes their siblings. Experiences include foster-to-adoption with a forever family to aging out of foster care on their own:
Julius shares the challenging emotions he felt during his experience in the foster care system, along with his fears about having to leave foster care without a forever family.
Amanda speaks about her difficulty trusting people and her fears about being forced out of the system with a support structure. Her caseworker gave her hope, and she wants to pay that forward to help other kids by telling her story.
Adrian explains how he came to age out of foster care. He speaks candidly about the difficulty of being left alone to transition and manage adult responsibilities without a role model or adult support.
Nancy shares her fears about living on the streets after aging out of foster care. She was excited about the opportunity to be adopted by a family but admitted to testing them to see if they would truly stay as her forever family.
Renee speaks about her fear of being adopted while she was in foster care and the challenges she had trying to make it on her own after aging out of the foster care system. She describes how she navigated some of the issues without the support of an adult and ultimately recommends adoption, so kids have long-term stability and support they can count on.
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Fostering a Sibling Group
Lacey opens up about her foster-to-adopt and sibling story, hoping that other kids in a tough place might keep hope for their futures. With the support of her foster-to-adopt mom, she shares the problematic living conditions she and her siblings had with her quick-tempered dad, who was in and out of jail. Lacey and her sibling's situation worsened when they were abandoned by their dad with their biological grandmother and her boyfriend.
Lacey explains how her brother's physical abuse caught the attention of school officials, who called Child Protective Services (CPS). Lacey, her brother, and her sister entered the foster care system together. They could stay together with the foster family who took them in and eventually became their foster-to-adopt forever family.
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Josh & Diana's Foster-to-Adopt Story
Josh and Diana tell their story about family, faith, foster care, and adoption. While they always felt a calling to adopt a child, they decided to foster children; eventually, ten different kids over time. They adopted four children and cared for kids of various ages, including those under six years and a teenager. A surprise even to them, they fostered her as an older teen, helped her find focus, graduate from high school with honors, and earn her college admission.
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