Success Stories

Walden Family Spotlight: the W Family

In July 2011 the W family warmly welcomed F into their fost-adopt home.  Three weeks later, he was reunified with family members.  Less than two months later, on September 29, 2011, the family received a call from the county stating that F was once again detained and needing a fost-adopt home.  Without hesitation, the W family eagerly and excitedly said “YES!”  Once he was placed for the second time, F had lost all his language skills and was experiencing severe behavior challenges.  The W family is nothing short of amazing for their efforts since placement.  As a result of their commitment, dedication and determination, F has made great strides in the last 6 months.  He is now saying words, short phrases and knows every car company out there and will tell you, “Ford! BMW! Honda! Toyota!  They continue to work daily on his behavior challenges and are 110% committed to work through all the challenges and provide F with everything he needs and deserves.  Valentine’s Day 2012, they added to their family by accepting F’s newborn half-sibling.  If reunification is not possible, we are all very excited for the W’s to adopt F! We are so lucky to have such wonderful families at Walden.      

Preventing Child Abuse - Brandon, Jessica, Thomas and Rachel

Brandon came to Walden as an infant.  He had been shaken and the resulting brain damage changed his future.  He struggled with eating, talking and overall issues in all areas of his development.  He needed constant attention both emotionally and medically.  He was fed by a g-tube and pump throughout the night and required someone to sleep in the room to monitor this.  The foster parents who took this child into their home and hearts spent several hours a week going to doctor’s appointments, setting up test and appointments, working with the nurse and the therapist to learn techniques to help Brandon as he developed.  Brandon saw four specialists and attended therapy twice a week.  The foster parents were persistent in their work with Brandon and he made progress in several areas.  He will always require extra assistance and monitoring by at least one to two specialists but the attachment and love from his foster parents ensured that he experienced a feeling of love and belonging that he would not have received had he not been able to grow  up in a caring home.

For many of the children with special healthcare needs their biological family cannot manage the high level of care and coordination needed.  Having these children in a foster home allows for help from many sources.  For Jessica this was key to being able to return to her family.  Jessica came into care due in part to medical neglect.  She was born at 24 weeks and many of her neurological systems were affected.  She did not tolerate noise or touch very well and there were concerns she could not hear or see well.  She struggled with eating and her biological parents did not know what to do.  Jessica was placed in a foster home with foster parents that mentored and provided role modeling for her parents.  The focus was on caring for Jessica’s needs and also teaching her parents how to manage her condition.  Jessica, like most of the children with healthcare needs, was monitored monthly by several different specialty doctors and clinics.  The foster parents shared what they learned about how to help Jessica as she developed.  This level of support and teaching for the biological parents would not have been possible at the one-on-one level had she not been in home setting, specialized program to meet her needs and the needs of her family.

Thomas is an 18 month old male, diagnosed with failure to thrive and a life threatening illness requiring a g-tube. He came into our care after being on a social hold at the hospital for over 45 days.  After becoming a dependent of the court in one of the largest counties in California, a home for Thomas that could accommodate his special health care needs was unavailable. Walden was able to provide a home in which the foster parents were able to meet his needs.  The foster parents became trained to Thomas’s specific health care needs and provided him the love and support he needed to form healthy attachments until he could go home to his birth mother who was working to reunify with him.

Rachel is an 11-year-old female with type 1 juvenile diabetes. She had been living at a children’s shelter for four months waiting for her grandmother to be properly trained to care for her type 1 diabetes. Unfortunately, her grandmother was unable to learn how to care for her, and it was determined that Rachel would be placed in a foster home. Walden Family Services was able to offer a perfect home for Rachel. Located in the country, the home has farm animals – which help Rachel with her dream of becoming a Veterinarian.  Rachel’s foster parents had previously worked with another youth with type 1 diabetes who was successfully reunified with his birth family. Rachel’s circumstances at the time of coming into care at Walden are staggering. She had been maintaining her diabetes by herself due to severe neglect by her birth family. In addition to needing close supervision in treating her illness, Rachel is struggling with readjusting to attending school on a regular basis. Her treatment team of foster parents, social worker, nurse, therapist and youth mentor are currently working to support her emotional, health and school needs.

His Smile is All Mine

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a mom.

I was devastated on the day almost three years ago the doctors told my husband and me that having a biological child would be near impossible. After two years of infertility treatments I couldn’t go through the medications and surgeries any longer, and our hearts turned toward adoption.

There are a lot of options out there for prospective adoptive parents: international adoption, private domestic adoptions, and foster adoption. We did our research on each one, but from the beginning I felt drawn towards adopting from foster care.

We attempted to become registered foster parents with our county first. We had a private home study completed for adoption, but we had to wait on the county to certify us to become foster parents...and wait we did. After eight months with little communication we had all but given up, but through a chance Internet search I found Walden Family Services. We were intrigued by the fact that they worked with several counties to place children into adoptive homes. We began our training classes and worked through the paper work to complete a homestudy, all while trying not to get our hopes up too much. We learned a lot about what it means to be foster parents through our classes and our wonderful social worker who helped us complete our home study. Walden worked with us every step of the way to help complete everything that we needed -- even answering emails at 6:00pm on a Friday evening!

When we became certified eight weeks after attending our first class, we thought we would be in for a long wait for a placement, but once again we were happily surprised. The amazing adoption staff worked tirelessly to find a child for us, and three weeks later we learned that we had been chosen as the family for a little five year old boy named Jason.

We were very excited, but hesitant at the same time. We knew the little boy had a diagnosis of Autism. Autism didn’t scare us per-se -- I have worked as a behavior therapist for children with Autism, and have through graduate school done quite a bit of research on the disorder -- so I felt well versed, but I wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing for our family. Jill, our social worker came with us to Orange County the day we got all the information about Jason. Our social workers were there to answer any questions, but they did not push us to either accept or refute the placement.

I had agonized over having to make this decision with my husband about whether or not to proceed with the placement, but it was actually a very easy one, we both wanted to proceed! The first time we met Jason, it was at the home of his current foster placement. He was so cute and tiny, and so very intelligent. We were both blown away by his language and reading skills. We continued to have visits with Jason for the next two weeks. The day he came running out of his foster mother’s home to greet us yelling “mommy” “daddy” was incredible after thinking I would never have a child.

Jason seemed to be transitioning very easily, and so we decided that he would come home with us for good on the Fourth of July weekend. The first week was not easy. We had a lot of rules that Jason had to get used to. He would often cry for his former foster mother, which broke my heart. Getting into a regular schedule was very important for us and seems to have worked wonders for Jason.

Jason has made so much progress in the time he has been with us. When we first met him, he could not properly hold a pencil or eating utensil. I spend two hours each day doing handwriting and school work with Jason and I’m pleased to say that he can now print all of his letters and numbers correctly as well as eat with a fork and spoon. I feel completely confident in his ability to be successful in a general education Kindergarten class, and so does he!

Because of his Autism, Jason has some unique challenges. We use a lot of charts and token reward systems in order to encourage positive behavior and smart choices; we have been known to use a time out or two as well. Another mother at the park complimented me on how polite and well behaved my son was today, I felt so proud of my little boy. It never ceases to amaze me how many of my catch phrases he’s added to his vocabulary. When he looks at his daddy, an avid Cal fan, and yells, “Go Bruins!” I can’t help but say, that’s my boy!

Jason is in every way my son. We may not look alike, but his sideways smile is all mine.
 

Won't you be my Valentine?

Ray was two years old and had lived in foster care his entire life due to abuse and neglect. His speech was impaired, he threw temper tantrums, and he was “hyper.” His foster parents were not able to adopt him; however, Jennifer and Greg, who were already parents to Jack, a 9 year old with autism, and Katie, a 7 year old, had long wanted to expand their family. Due to Jack’s autism, the couple felt they had the resources and knowledge to adopt a child in need from foster care. A year after being approved for adoption, they met Ray. They heard he had developmental issues and were concerned, but after meeting Ray, they knew he must meet their children. The meeting was a success. He has come a long way. He lived with the family only 6 months before the adoption was finalized, but he was already using full sentences, running around, and Jennifer said “I can’t remember what life was like without Ray.” He has completed this family of five and continues to grow and thrive. He is truly a wonderful “Valentine’s gift” to his new forever family. 

Mentor Makes a Difference and So Does Youth

 In 1993, Ed Earl joined the Board of Directors of Walden Family Services, a local non-profit adoption and treatment level foster family agency serving children in eight counties throughout Southern California.  “I was fortunate to be raised in a very loving and stable family and I wanted to give back to children who did not have the childhood I had” Earl explains.  After a few years on the board, Ed started the One To One Mentoring program as a way for him and other San Diego professionals to provide guidance to Walden’s foster children. 

 Ed was matched with Adam Rajah Gainey, a then 12-year old boy, who had come to Walden Family Services after being bounced around in a series of County foster homes and group home facilities.  “I still remember our first meeting” Adam recalls, “I saw this tall white man walking down the hall and I wondered why he would want anything to do with me.”  “I also wondered” Gainey elaborates “how long it would be until this guy disappeared from my life just like every other adult figure had in my life to that point”

Earl stuck around and not only did the two develop a close relationship, but Ed continues to play a significant role in this former foster child’s life 16 years later.  “I saw first-hand what a foster child goes through” Ed explains, “as they are changing not only schools and homes, but also getting new foster parents and siblings every time they are placed in a different home.”  “It is no wonder that these kids have a difficult time developing trust and building long term relationships.”

When Gainey turned 18, he was ‘emancipated’ from the foster care system and all prior support disappeared.  “Emancipated foster youth are expected to be fully self-sufficient, holding down jobs or going to school” Earl explains “at an age that most young adults are still living at home or being supported by their parents.” 

It was as a result of this situation that Walden created the Independent Futures program to offer guidance and assistance to foster children when they reach 18 yeas old.  Gainey was a participant in that program and received Walden’s support and guidance as he took classes in community colleges while holding down a series of jobs.  One of those jobs was as a Teen Services Coordinator with Walden in the same Independent Futures program that had helped Gainey when he turned 18 years old.

Ultimately Gainey went back to school full time and graduated with a Bachelors degree from Cal State San Marcos this past spring.  “It was one of the proudest days of my life” Earl recalls “to see Adam receiving his diploma after all of the challenges and obstacles he had faced over the 10 years since he left the foster care system.”

Gainey now works for the Children’s Initiative in Pacific Beach and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of Walden Family Services.  “We have truly come full circle” Earl says with a big smile.  “I couldn’t have done it without Ed” Gainey acknowledges, “He has been the one consistent person in my life for the past 16 years that I always knew I could reach out to for support and advice.”

A Sibling Pair Reunited, Walden Foster Care to Adoption 

Gail, a single foster mom, had fostered several children and then she met Nathan.  Nathan was a challenging little boy who had difficulty controlling his anger.  Gail saw past his rough exterior to a boy who needed love, structure, and guidance.  She fell in love with him and was asked if she would consider becoming his permanent home.  Gail did not hesitate, but she did wonder about his little sister, Sara.  Initially, the workers had separated the children due to their negative behaviors.  Gail felt she could work with Nathan on his behaviors, and accept guardianship of Sara to unite the siblings.  She did, and they were.  The family quickly adjusted and in January their adoption was finalized.

A Family Grows, Walden Adoption

Tracey and Keith became interested in adoption as a way to expand their family after attempting to conceive for several years.  Their daughter also wanted siblings and she was getting older.  Once the couple began adoption training, they knew they wanted more than one child and felt they have the love, space, and energy for a sibling group.  The family was quickly chosen to foster a sibling set of three.  They fell in love.  But this group ended up returning to family members.  This was devastating to the Tracey and Keith, but they persevered and prior to their initial placement leaving they were matched with a sibling set of three, two boys and a girl.  This was the one.  The family met them and immediately they were a part of the family.  The family was excited when things began to move quickly and the children were placed in adoptive placement and two weeks later they finalized the adoption in court.  

Supporting Lasting Relationships, Walden Adoption

Katie was dumbfounded when her granddaughter was not able to care for her grandson, Marquis.  She had always had a big family with lots of people around and knew there was no way she could allow her great grandson to go anywhere but with family.  She took him in hoping her grandaughter would be able to make the necessary changes to care for him on her own, but slowly she realized that Marquis was happy with her and the family.  Everyone, including her great grandaughter, saw it too.  Katie known as "GG" to Marguise began preparing to care for him permanently.  With the support of her family, her church, and Walden, the Marquis' adoption was finalized.  Katie reports Marquis is doing well and growing too quickly.  She says, "Marquis keeps me young."