GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Over the past few months, FOX 17 has featured several foster youth that have been searching for forever homes.
Hundreds of viewers - from West Michigan and around the country - have called and offered to adopt or checked in to hear if the children they've seen in those stories have found families.
Of the 12 children featured in FOX 17 reports, eight have found homes and three are still looking for a forever home.
Dana Wright of Orchards Children’s Services says all the adoptions have been perfect fits. "It's that forever family where they have similar interests."
Throughout the journey of meeting and getting to know foster youth in West Michigan, FOX 17 viewers have opened their hearts and their homesf. Some are beginning the process of welcoming these children into their families.
RememberAaron, the17-year-old originally adopted from Romania by an American couple who later put him into the foster system? With no family here or there, he feared he would age out of the foster system and live his life never knowing a family.
There's good news now though.
"Aaron is potentially matched with a family, and they're currently going through the home study process," Wright says. "We’re trying to rush that through so he can be adopted before his 18th birthday."
- Tre’Vone, who yearned for a father, has his wish too. He's also been matched with a family.
- Preston, who told us he couldn’t even imagine what having a family would be like, will soon know that love firsthand.
- Ashley's story was an especially tough one. The 13-year-old's mother died, and she has been separated from her siblings. "Ashley was potentially matched with a family." Wright says. "We had two families come forward, but after going through the adoption orientation, they’ve decided that adoption is not right for their family. So Ashley is again looking for her forever family."
- Decota dreams of one day being a meteorologist. He got a tour of the FOX 17 weather office on a visit and is still looking for a family after those who came forward weren’t the right match. He and Trevor, a studious and comical 15-year-old, are still looking parents to make proud. "It would just mean a lot to me because I’ve been waiting for a family since I was 8," Trevor says.
- For B.J., the 10-year-old with autism who is non-verbal and loves sitting at the airport to watch the planes take off, actions have spoken louder than words in a wonderful way. He has been matched with a family willing to aid his special needs and give him the love he's never known.
- Nolan and Michael were featured together and have both been matched with potential parents, but first Nolan needs some specialized treatment before he can be placed with his forever family.
- And who could forget Dylan - the boy who stole the hearts of West Michigan with his perfectly styled red hair and suit he wore to impress a forever family.
After years of loneliness in the foster and placement homes, Dylan now has more possible parents than he ever imagined. More than 38 families called in hopes of making him an addition to their families. "They were from as far away as Alaska, Texas, California," Wright says. - Last week, we introduced you to Dakota and Gerald,brother and sister who have been in the foster system for three years. Their adoption workers are still following up with phone calls, but it's looking like they too will be matched with a family.
If you’re interested in adopting a child through the Michigan Foster System call Orchards Children’s Services at 855-694-7301.
You can find more information about adopting a childhere.
