WASHINGTON: Cody* was a toddler when he was adopted. No official records of the adoption exist because the adoption didn’t go through the state of Washington, leaving many questions unanswered including why Cody’s birth parents couldn’t care for him. Now a teenager, Cody was raised in a loving adoptive home. He would still be living with his adoptive parents had they not tragically died. Their untimely deaths led to Cody’s re-entry into foster care.
Since returning to foster care, Cody has grieved over his adoptive parents. When a suitable alternative permanent option was identified for Cody, he emotionally expressed one heartfelt wish to his Specialized Adoption Recruiter from Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF):
“I wish to know the names of my birth parents.”
Determined to grant Cody’s wish, his recruiter data-mined his case file and entered a name—which was a long shot—into the Connect Our Kids’ People Search and Family Connections tools. This name unlocked a treasure trove of information that would change Cody’s life forever.
Connect Our Kids’ tools located people who knew Cody as a young child and his birth parents. For the first time in his life, Cody now knows the names of his birth parents. The Family Connections tool also found many of Cody’s relatives who reside in another state. Cody, thinking he had no one, actually has a large biological family, and even has a half-sibling who lives nearby. He is overwhelmed with happiness because of what his recruiter found on Connect Our Kids’ technology platform. Cody’s DCYF team is now in the process of vetting and scheduling visits with family, with the hope that he will someday reunite with them.
To directly create more outcomes like Cody’s, please donate HERE. Connect Our Kids is a nonprofit dedicated to leveraging technology to find families, build connections, and make a community for children in the foster care system.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
