LilMtnCbn
08-29-2004, 05:37 AM
http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=118026&SecID=2
Siblings fear separation comes with adoption
8/29/2004 5:00 AM
By: Amy Hadley
Close to 500 kids in Central Texas are waiting to be adopted. Of those kids,
many are in their teens, and many are part of a sibling group.
These children are considered harder to adopt, and they face extra challenges
in finding a forever family.
Monique, 12, and her brother Pete, 5, are still in foster care together. Their
caseworker, Grace Mitchell, said Monique is fun-loving and Pete is a little
squirt.
"I can tease her a lot and she takes it really well. She comes right back at
you with something else. So she's just a lot of fun. He is an absolute charmer
and he knows it. He's the one at weddings smiling at the old ladies, saying,
'Hi, I'm Pete,'" Mitchell said.
The two siblings are waiting to find a family together, but there's a
possibility they could be separated. A few weeks ago, a judge gave permission
for the kids to be split up. That's because older kids are harder to adopt out,
so Pete has a better chance on his own.
"They're saying if me and Pete stay together, that Pete will never get adopted.
When you get older, people don't want you when you're in foster care. When you
turn 18 the state will kick you out of foster care then I don't know what
you're going to do," Monique said.
These two have already been through a lot. They have three other siblings who
were separated from them.
"Monique has been the only person consistently since he was two and a half,
since the time he came into care. Now he's almost six. Like I said, this was a
sibling group of five to start out with and slowly they've been split up. So
the last thing I want to do is see them apart, but it may be what has to
happen," Mitchell said.
Of course, Monique and Pete don’t want to lose each other. Monique made the
honor roll last year and looks after Pete like he was her own son.
"I don't think she really understands how big of a change it would be. I don't
think she can really see it happening. So understanding she may lose the only
sibling she has left, I think it's going to be really hard. I think she may not
completely recover," Mitchell said.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Siblings fear separation comes with adoption
8/29/2004 5:00 AM
By: Amy Hadley
Close to 500 kids in Central Texas are waiting to be adopted. Of those kids,
many are in their teens, and many are part of a sibling group.
These children are considered harder to adopt, and they face extra challenges
in finding a forever family.
Monique, 12, and her brother Pete, 5, are still in foster care together. Their
caseworker, Grace Mitchell, said Monique is fun-loving and Pete is a little
squirt.
"I can tease her a lot and she takes it really well. She comes right back at
you with something else. So she's just a lot of fun. He is an absolute charmer
and he knows it. He's the one at weddings smiling at the old ladies, saying,
'Hi, I'm Pete,'" Mitchell said.
The two siblings are waiting to find a family together, but there's a
possibility they could be separated. A few weeks ago, a judge gave permission
for the kids to be split up. That's because older kids are harder to adopt out,
so Pete has a better chance on his own.
"They're saying if me and Pete stay together, that Pete will never get adopted.
When you get older, people don't want you when you're in foster care. When you
turn 18 the state will kick you out of foster care then I don't know what
you're going to do," Monique said.
These two have already been through a lot. They have three other siblings who
were separated from them.
"Monique has been the only person consistently since he was two and a half,
since the time he came into care. Now he's almost six. Like I said, this was a
sibling group of five to start out with and slowly they've been split up. So
the last thing I want to do is see them apart, but it may be what has to
happen," Mitchell said.
Of course, Monique and Pete don’t want to lose each other. Monique made the
honor roll last year and looks after Pete like he was her own son.
"I don't think she really understands how big of a change it would be. I don't
think she can really see it happening. So understanding she may lose the only
sibling she has left, I think it's going to be really hard. I think she may not
completely recover," Mitchell said.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
