The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) says that there are hundreds of other children waiting to be adopted in addition to the five children who recently made headlines after a plea went out for a forever family.
“We’re really excited about the attention that the sibling set has received,” Theresa Freed, the communications director for the DCF, told Christian News Network on Wednesday. “It’s opening the door for many people who didn’t previously consider foster care or adoption to now take a closer look at the children who are available for adoption, and maybe start the process to adopt.”
As previously reported, the Kansas City Star had published a story on Saturday about the five siblings—Bradley, Preston, Layla, Landon and Olive—and phone calls and emails quickly poured in to a point that the DCF and the Kansas Children’s Service League called the level of interest viral and unprecedented.
Freed advised that while the department is still in the early stages of sorting through potential adoptive families, so far there have been “several viable options.”
When asked about the other children waiting to be adopted, Freed advised that out of the 294 children currently posted on the AdoptKSkids.org website, 93 have siblings and would like to stay together.
Andrew, Keira, Melinda and Toby are among those 93.
Andrew “enjoys fishing, riding bikes and playing basketball. … Andrew would like to be an archeologist when he gets older,” their profile outlines. “Keira would like to ride horses when she grows up! Her hobbies include reading and playing cards.”
“Melinda loves playing with her dolls, reading and being around her friends. She does well in school and recess is her favorite activity while at school,” it continues. “[Toby] enjoys playing with his toys and cars” and “has additional supports in place in the classroom to help him with his work.”
De’Marcus, Sha’Marra, Isaac and KaLee are also four sweet siblings who are waiting to be adopted.
“Oldest is De’Marcus; he is an active and energetic child who loves to play sports,” the site outlines. Sha’Marra “loves to sing and dance. She also loves sports, especially basketball.”
Isaac is known as “a very kind and friendly child,” and loves to play outside. KaLee, an outgoing and happy child, “loves to be around other kids her age. She loves to read and color in coloring books.”
Three other children who want to stay together in a forever family are Keara, Siley and Rayna.
“Keara likes to attend church and the church youth groups as well as she enjoys spending time with her friends. She has aspirations to travel the world when she gets older,” their profile reads. “In school Siley likes her reading class the most as she says she learns something new every time she reads. When she grows up, she wants to be a foster mom so she can do what her current foster parents do.”
“[Rayna] likes to go swimming, doing arts and crafts and playing on the computer. Like her older sister, Rayna also enjoys being able to express herself through art, in particular through painting on a canvas,” the site states.
There are hundreds of other children available as well who are by themselves, including Lazarus, a “helpful, caring, and genuine young man” who wants to be a mechanic, truck driver or photographer some day. Emily is a hard-working little girl who likes to also play with dolls and ride her bike.
Casey likes math and wants to be a police officer when he grows up so he can help others. And Skyler would like to be adopted by a family who lives on a farm as she “likes animals, especially horses, and she really enjoys taking care of them.”
“There are many children who have been waiting for a very long time,” Freed said.
And while private or overseas adoptions customarily cost between $11,000 – $30,000, there is little cost involved in adopting American children in foster care, she explained.
“Adoption from foster care is virtually free, and you can also get subsidies for a certain amount of time and additional resources and support post-adoption,” Freed outlined. “It’s a very cost effective way to adopt, and also a very meaningful and important way to adopt.”
Some children on the AdoptKSKids.org site need to stay in Kansas, but others may be adopted by out-of-state families. The process involves a nearly three-month training period, as well as a home inspection.
“They would go through a 10-week training, which consists of 30 hours of training about children from foster care and issues that may come up and how to address those,” Freed explained. “They go through background checks, and they go through a home inspection.”
“And so, once that process is completed, then they can be prepared for adoption, and there is an introduction between the children and the prospective adoptive parents,” she continued. “And there is work behind the scenes that’s happening between case managers [and] the court system to just make sure this is a good fit.”
Those interested in adopting any of the children mentioned above, or others on the AdoptKSKids.org site, may call 877-457-5430. For additional opportunities to adopt nationwide, please visit AdoptUSKids.org
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