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Finding A Forever Family: 12-Year-Old Christopher

RIVER VALLEY (KFSM) — Throughout seven counties in the River Valley, more than 900 kids are in foster homes or up for adoption, and those numbers continue...

RIVER VALLEY (KFSM) -- Throughout seven counties in the River Valley, more than 900 kids are in foster homes or up for adoption, and those numbers continue to rise each year. The Arkansas Department of Human Services is hoping to turn things around, but they need help.

Hundreds of children of all ages are either in foster homes or up for adoption in the state of Arkansas, not knowing where their next home will be.

DHS in the River Valley covers Sebastian, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Scott and Yell counties. Kids in DHS custody are either in foster care, which is temporary placement for kids, or they're up for adoption.

Christopher is a 12-year-old boy in the River Valley searching for his forever home. "I don't have parents and that's what makes me sad," said Christopher. He was born in Savannah, Georgia and his parents put him up for adoption at a young age.

Each day, Christopher said he never knows where his next home will be, "Sometimes I move to foster homes and shelters". But one thing is for sure, he knows he won't let anything get him down. When asked about the day when he will get to meet his future parents Christopher said, "I'll be happy because no one can make fun of me anymore for not having parents."

If your family is interested in adopting, a background check will first be completed. Then comes an in-home meeting with the family to do a brief walk through assessment of the home. Training classes are then conducted for the family to learn more about the adoption process. The safe home study is the final step.

After all the training, families can take a child into their homes to live. The child must live with the adopted family for at least six months before the adoption is finalized. The entire adoption process from start to finish takes about one year.

If you're thinking about adopting a child, the process could seem overwhelming, but it is a rewarding experience. "They need someone to reach out to when something successful happens in their life, or when something sad happens in their life," said Kristen Shelton, Adoption and Resource Manager for Area Two. "They have to have that person to call, and unless we find adopted homes for these kids, so many of them are not going to have that. They will age out of the system without having that connection that all of us rely on in our everyday lives," Shelton added.

If you would like to be a foster parent, DHS is always on the look out to place kids in temporary homes until they're reunited with their family.

To learn more about adopting or fostering a child, CLICK HERE.

 

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