WEST VIRGINIA: 15-year-old Sean had lost his father and maternal grandparents early in life and spent over six years in the custody of the West Virginia Department of Human Services. Having no meaningful family connections, Sean moved through multiple foster homes, a residential facility, a shelter, a hotel, and a psychiatric hospital.
In July 2025, a Family Seeing Trainer with Aetna West Virginia began using Connect Our Kids’ tools to search for Sean’s relatives. Sean could name only one grandparent and a few older siblings, and it was clear from his withdrawn demeanor that he had little hope for his future.
Thanks to the Family Seeing process, powered by Connect Our Kids tools, Sean’s paternal grandparents were rediscovered the very day a meeting with Sean was scheduled. They wanted to be part of his life and began exploring having him placed with them out of state. He even spent Labor Day with his family.
Sean reportedly has a new spark of hope and even has new goals after this pivotal change. The grandparents told Sean’s caseworker that they “felt absolutely horrible” because they thought he was placed with his other grandparents this entire time and had no idea he had been in foster care for over 6 years.
Through Aetna’s partnership with Connect Our Kids, more than 50 potential biological connections were identified for Sean—fifty opportunities for connection and belonging that Sean now has! Learn more at ConnectOurKids.org.
Want to help more children like Sean? You can today by donating at https://connectourkids.org/donate/.
*Names and any personally identifiable health information have been modified to protect privacy. All imagesare sourced from royalty-free or fair-use stock photo websites.
