A Mother Reunites with Her Teen After Regaining Parental Rights
GEORGIA: At age five, Jazmine was placed in foster care because no one knew where her father was, and her mother struggled with a substance use disorder. This marked the beginning of a turbulent decade-long journey for Jazmine. Over the next decade, she cycled through 19 different placements, never finding the stability she needed. Her […]
Connect Our Kids Contributor Spotlight: La’Shanda Hawkins
La’Shanda Hawkins’ big dreams fly high. She is the first African-American female helicopter pilot in the United States Coast Guard. In her 17 years with the Coast Guard, she served as a Law Enforcement and Intelligence Division Head and Aircraft Commander who amassed over 2,000 flight hours conducting search and rescue, counter drug, law enforcement, […]
Connect Our Kids Ambassador Spotlight: Cornelius Johnson
Connect Our Kids’ co-founder Jessica Stern was first introduced to Cornelius a few years ago. At that time, Cornelius told his story of surviving abuse and of his ten years in foster care.
Connect Our Kids Strategic Advisor Spotlight: Jelani Freeman
Jelani Freeman is a busy man. As an attorney and board member for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, The Center for Adoption Support and Education, and the Barker Adoption Foundation, Jelani always has to be conservative with his time. Yet, a few years ago, he answered the call to have coffee with Dr. Jennifer Jacobs and Jessica Stern, co-founders of a then little-known nonprofit, Connect Our Kids.