Almost two years from the day they first arrived at CHRIS 180’s Gateway to Adoption program, brothers Logan and Layne were adopted into their forever family!
Sibling relationships can provide support, love, and stability, but siblings in foster care often experience separation. The data tells us that as many as 75% of siblings in foster care are placed apart from their brothers and sisters. Separated siblings struggle to adapt to new situations, may experience more behavioral and emotional challenges and perform more poorly in school than siblings placed together in the same home. And being able to stay together with their siblings allows children in foster care to maintain some of the most important relationships in their lives.
Our Gateway to Adoption program focuses on keeping siblings like Logan and Layne together in a safe, supportive home until they reunite with relatives or find an adoptive family. CHRIS 180 foster parents provide around-the-clock care. They also work with other members of the CHRIS 180 team to provide each child with therapy and specialized services that meet the unique needs of each child and family. This wraparound support begins the day that the siblings arrive in the foster home and extends to six months after they are adopted, placed with relatives, or reunited with their family.
Logan and Layne’s parents, Paula and Kristen, met Logan and Layne when they provided weekend relief for their foster parents. Paula and Kristen formed a special bond with the boys, so when presented with the opportunity to become the boys’ full-time foster parents, Paula and Kristen said yes! Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Paula, Kristen, Logan, and Layne utilized the help of their CHRIS 180 support system to build a new family routine and settle in. After a few months of living together as a foster family, Paula and Kristen made it permanent by adopting the boys.
Thanks to supporters like you, CHRIS 180 can provide families like Paula, Kristen, Logan, and Layne with extra support and services on their journey, meeting them at their level of need. We are so glad that these brothers found a loving forever family. Their story shows how community – and patience, flexibility, and love – make all the difference.
To learn more about CHRIS 180’s Adoptions and Foster Care program, email Erica.Kaufman@CHRIS180.org.
