The Way Home Adoption founder: 'I don’t think there is a more urgent need in our community than getting kids out of long-term foster care'

In Texas alone, there are more than 11,000 children in the foster system. Approximately 1,100 will age out of the system this year.

Children who linger in foster care from ages 11-18 tend to have harder lives when they age out. And when they do age out, they are much less likely to be adopted than younger kids, because of the common misconception that it's just "too late." These teens (on average) are: Reading on a seventh grade level; more likely not to graduate from high school; more likely to become homeless; more likely to become victims of human trafficking; more likely to end up in the criminal justice system; less likely to be gainfully employed than their peers.

Kendall Monroe and Ashley Fields, the two Houston moms behind The Way Home Adoption, are working to put an end to that imbalance. The Way Home Adoption is the only organization in Texas focused exclusively on helping these disenfranchised youth. The Way Home Adoption was developed based on research showing that adoption is the only solution that truly changes this trajectory.

Youth are referred to The Way Home Adoption based on specific criteria. They receive referrals from Child Protective Services (CPS), Harris County judges, Emergency Shelters, Child Advocates (CASA) programs and child placement agencies (CPAs).

To find out more about The Way Home and take a deeper dive into the American Foster System, we spoke to Ashley Fields, co-founder of The Way Home Adoption.

What is the goal of The Way Home Adoption?

To get kids out of our local foster care system and into permanent, loving homes. We hope our evidence-based model for older youth adoption becomes a model for other communities.

How did you decide to start The Way Home Adoption?

Kendall Monroe, my co-founder, and I noticed a gap in services for older kids who are waiting for adoptive parents. The traditional adoption success rate for this group is only about 22%. We knew something had to be done and wanted to be strategic to make sure we were filling the gap and offering new services and a new approach, not overlapping with existing agencies.

What is the biggest misconception about adopting older kids?

There are two: One is that it’s too late to make a difference, the other is that it’s not affordable.

There is this idea floating around that to have a significant impact on the outcome of a child you must raise the child from infancy. It’s true that adopting a teenager is a totally different ball game than adopting a younger child. They are bringing all the history of their biological family and what they’ve lived through in foster care into your home. But adoption STILL matters. There is scientific, statistical and anecdotal evidence to back this up. Even at 17 or 18, adoption still changes the trajectory of a child’s life.

In terms of finances, when you adopt a teenager out of foster care you are adopting a child the system considers unlikely to be adopted so there is monthly financial support available to adoptive parents of this group. The legal fees are also paid for by the state.

The biggest toll on families is not financial, it’s emotional. People underestimate how challenging it can be even for a child who desperately wants to be adopted. You need to have some flexibility in your schedule, you’ll need to allow for some time when your life will be upended.

What are the stats on youth who age out of the foster care system?

Youth who age out of the foster care system are facing myriad obstacles. Fifty percent of our homeless population is from foster care. Seventy percent of our penitentiary inmate population has spent time in foster care. Sixty-four percent of youth rescued from human trafficking raids are from foster care.

Foster care creates a pipeline to homelessness, victimization, unemployment and substance abuse. With more than half of the kids who "age out" of the system, aging out without a high school diploma, they end up at 18 years old with no place to live, no diploma, no one to turn to and no skills or education to use as a foundation.

How is adoption life changing for these kids?

Statistically we know that if adopted before the age of 18, kids are more likely to get a high school diploma, more likely to join the workforce, less likely to be arrested and so on. Adoption is what allows a child to start healing – kids need a stable home where they know they are safe before they can focus on any other developmental tasks. Kids who are living in foster care don’t have that. They are growing up in survival mode. Adoption provides a safe place for them to start the healing process. It’s not an instant fix but over time it makes all the difference.

Tell me about the current state of the foster care system in Houston.

The foster care system is just that, a system. We can continue to invest in fixing the system or we can acknowledge that children shouldn’t be raised by systems, they should be raised by families. No matter what improvements are made, the foster care system will always fail at raising children.

How does someone get involved in the adoption process?

One thing we know about adopting older kids is the importance of an organic, foundational relationship. It’s important for the youth and it’s important for the adults taking them in. If someone is interested in adopting an older youth, we suggest volunteering at The Way Home Adoption’s Enrich & Engage events. This allows youth and community members to get to know each other before talking about adoption. There are a few steps to becoming an approved volunteer: Attend a volunteer training, complete a background check and submit proof of a negative TB test.

What's it like for these kids who live in foster care?

To no fault of the individuals working in the child welfare system, foster care is a terrible place to grow up. For the kids we work with, the average length of stay in a home is less than one year. Imagine living in more than one home a year from the time you were seven until you turned 18. They are separated from siblings, oftentimes permanently. Kids in foster care have suffered many losses and are grieving but that’s not something they are able to start processing until they get out. Given what kids are living through and what they are facing at age 18, I don’t think there is a more urgent need in our community than getting kids out of long-term foster care.

For more information, visit The Way Home Adoption.