Foster Child Is Taken To Court By Family - The Judge's Verdict Will Change His Life Forever

Dec 29, 2018 by apost team

For a child in the foster system, it can seem like it will take forever for the right family to come along. The adoption process can be a long and exhausting journey for both parents and children. 

A child may even start to feel hopeless as they move between foster homes or watch their friends in the same foster home find families to adopt them. For 12 years, this was Carson Petersen's life.

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Carson Petersen was no stranger to the foster care system. He was bounced between one foster family to the next, and he never quite felt like he fit in. It can't be easy on a child to feel so unwanted over and over again, but Carson would soon find out that not all hope was lost. The abuse and neglect often faced by foster children is unthinkable.

In 2014, Tex and Renee Petersen fostered young Carson. It was clear to Carson that this family was not like the others he had visited. He was 18 years old now, and had been without a family to call his own for most of his life. Would he even recognize what safe and loved felt like?

Although the Petersen's already had 3 children of their own, Carson remembers from early on that Tex and Renee referred to him as "son" and not "foster son". For the Petersen's, Carson felt like a missing puzzle piece they had finally found. For the first time in a long time, Carson finally was starting to feel the warmth and comfort of a real home.

"They taught me how to believe in myself," says Carson.

Just as he was starting to become happy and feel like a part of the family, Carson approached Tex and Renee with a question they just couldn't see coming.

Carson really made himself vulnerable by asking the Petersen's to legally adopt him in December of 2016. Since Carson was 18, this was really a rare occurrence. Only a very small fraction of foster kids over the age of 18 are adopted. What would the Petersen's say to such an odd request?

Tex and Renee were overjoyed! They wanted to start the adoption process as soon as possible. Paperwork was filed, and both the Petersen's and Carson struggled with nerves and excitement! In June 2017, Carson's long and emotional journey to find a family was finally over! He was adopted!

"It's now finally over for him," Tex says. "He has a forever family."

It isn't easy adopting a son or daughter over the age of 18 in the state of California, but Carson's story shows just how beneficial this type of adoption could be.

What do you think? Should California or other states allow for adults to be adopted? Do you know of any similar stories? Make sure to let us know - and don't forget to share!