Teen Hopes To Find Loving Forever Family After 7-Year Adoption Comes To End

Sep 13, 2021 by apost team

Everyone wants to feel like they belong and to feel like they are loved. It’s a feeling of joy that can help push us through our darkest moments and help us strive for better days. After spending seven years with their adoptive family, a teenager was left feeling unwanted and heartbroken. Dax is a 16-year-old who was first adopted by their family seven years ago but has since been left to go back into the foster care system after their family revealed that they no longer wanted to keep the adoptive teen.

The foster care system is not usually a place children and teenagers want to find themselves, but it is sometimes their only resort. Many youths in this system go on to struggle with their mental health while waiting and hoping that one day they will find a family that will keep them forever. Fortunately for several children and teens, this is just a temporary stop on the road of their journey to finding their forever home.

In early September of 2021, Dax revealed that their previous family had no longer wanted them and didn’t accept them for who they are, ending their adoptive relationship. Dax identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and uses they/them pronouns — traits that appear to have been a deal-breaker for their adoptive parents. The teenager from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has kept an open mind and hopes to one day find their forever home with a family that will love them for who they are.

The news station KFOR met up with Dax at Providence Farms in Edmond on Sept. 7, 2021, to learn more about their life story and what they hoped the future would bring. The teenager expressed that they love chickens and have plenty of experience raising the feathery animals, so they felt happy to be with so many chickens at Providence Farms. “I raised 26 little ones,” Dax said. “They were born and I got to see them when they were born.” On top of that, the 16-year-old has also shown chickens and hopes to one day raise a few more again.

Another one of Dax’s loves is school. “It’s basically like my getaway from home,” the teenager revealed. Home-life has recently been extremely difficult for Dax as their family has struggled to accept them for who they are. The teen explained that they had been adopted and lived with a family for seven years, but were ultimately told they were no longer welcomed in the family. “It was nice, but then they like — they started not loving me anymore for who I was, being LGBTQ,” Dax sadly explained. The teen has since been left to return to the foster care system.

According to the Children’s Defense Fund, every two minutes, a child is removed from their home and placed in foster care. Foster care is intended to be temporary with the hopes of children safely being reunited with their family, or being adopted by another family. In 2019, more than 240,000 children left foster care after an average of 20 months in care, as per the Children’s Defense Fund.

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Many youth in the LGBTQ community that are also in foster care are more likely to experience discimination. According to Children’s Rights, 30.4% of youth in foster care identify as a member of the LGBTQ community.

Despite Dax’s heart being broken by his adoptive family, has found a way to stay in good spirits and hopes that one day they’ll find the perfect forever family that will love them unconditionally. Speaking with KFOR, Dax shared some of the traits they hope their next family will have. “Probably a same-sex couple or someone who is very understanding of my situation,” the teenager said. 

They also hope to be placed with a family who enjoys getting out and making memories together. “Just going places together, going on road trips, doing stuff together, going bowling and all the family stuff,” Dax explained. Most importantly, Dax hopes to find a family who will love them and accept them exactly as they are. “Give me a chance,” Dax said. “I’m open minded. I care about a lot of different kinds of people.”

Anyone hoping to become an adoptive parent or a foster parent should get started with the process as soon as possible. According to KFOR, it can take a few months for people to get approved, and even more time after that for children to finally be adopted. Anyone interested in adopting Dax or another child in the foster care system should contact the Oklahoma DHS hotline at 1-800-376-9729 or visit its website. We hope Dax finally finds their forever home!

What do you think about this teenager’s story? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family members and friends, too.