TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Florida Department of Children and Families says 800 children are available for adoption at any given time in the Sunshine State, and right now 26 of those children are right here in our area.
“The department’s most sacred responsibility is to protect children and, when we determine that a child’s birth parents do not have the capacity to be parents, we take action to remove the child and place them for adoption,” said DCF Secretary Mike Carroll. “There is nothing more rewarding than to see those children find loving families with whom they can share holidays, birthdays, weddings as well as all the challenges of life. I adopted my son nearly 20 years ago and could not imagine life without him.”
WTXL ABC 27 is starting a new series called 'Fostering Hope', that aims to highlight some of those children in the Big Bend area looking for a place to call their own.
Children of all ages throughout the Big Bend are available for adoption including Ja'Kalyn.
Ja'Kalyn is 11-years-old.
He is an energetic, happy child. Ja’Kalyn has a lot of special needs and needs a special family that lives in Florida so that he can remain close with his grandmother and other family members.
He enjoys eating and being affectionate with loved ones.
Case managers say he appears to have adapted well to the many changes in his life.
"These children have been removed from their homes because their parents were unable to care for them. Florida is fortunate to have many foster parents who provide loving, temporary homes, but these children need forever homes," said Carroll. "It is more than just a basic human need. Ensuring these kids can learn to love and trust again is critical to society.”
If you are interested in opening up your home to Ja'Kalyn, you can contact his Adoption Case Manager, Rachel Stacy, at 850-488-0506.
If you're interesting in adopting, but you're not sure if you'd be a good fit, you can get all your questions answered here.
