Foster Parents Recall Precious Time Spent With 2-Year-Old Boy

LARGO, FL -- The former foster parents of 2-year-old Jordan Belliveau say the foster care system failed the little boy. Now they're hoping his death will lead to changes that will save the lives of other children.

Sam and Juliet Warren gave what they said will be their only statement to the media on Wednesday, Sept. 5.

The Largo boy was placed in their care in January 2017 and returned to his mother, Charlisse Stinson, on May 31, 2018. Three months later, his body was found in a wooded lot off McMullen Road.

"We loved Jordan deeply and we are devastated by his loss," said Sam Warren, standing next to his wife who cried throughout the reading of the statement. "He wasn't just the boy in the Amber Alert."

Warren said Jordan rolled over, crawled, walked and talked for the first time in their care.

"He flourished and grew in a community that love him," he said. That community included the Warrens' church, LifeBridge Church, the U.S. Coast Guard station where Warren works and fellow foster parents associated with A Door of Hope Tampa Bay in Pinellas Park, a Christian nonprofit organization that trains, supports and licenses foster parents.

"He was laid back with an easy smile and a twinkle in his eye," said Warren. "Jordan was filled with joy. He was our Mr. Chuckles."

Despite the bond between Jordan and the Warrens that was forged in the 17 months they were together, the state's foster care system priority is to reunite foster children with their parents. That's how Jordan ended up back in the care of his 21-year-old unemployed single mother.

"But for a court order, he would still be safe in our home," said Warren. "We hope that our painful loss will result in a fundamental reexamination of the entire system, of how foster care works, of the reunification process. Jordan deserves that and the other children in the system deserve that.

"Jordan was failed by the system," Warren continued. "He was failed by many people who should have protected him but didn't. Promises that were made to us about how he would be protected after his return were broken."

Jordan was removed from Stinson's custody due to a series of domestic disputes between Stinson and Jordan's father, Jordan Belliveau Sr. DCF also investigated a complaint that the baby was being exposed to an environment of drugs, gangs and physical abuse.

According to records, at one point Jordan's father began abusing Stinson while she was holding the baby.

According to Largo Police, a case worker from the Directions for Living, a child welfare service that offers reunification services in Tampa Bay, visited Stinson and her son the day before Jordan was killed.

Stinson was arrested Tuesday night after Jordan's body was found. She was arraigned on a first-degree murder charge Wednesday, Sept. 5. The judge denied Stinson bond.

Stinson, also a product of the foster care system where she had a history of violent behavior, told police that "a moment of frustration" led to the toddler's death. She said she backhanded him across the face and his head hit a wall. He began having seizures so she took him into the woods and left him to die.

A celebration of life is planned for Wednesday, Sept. 5, has been canceled. It will take place Thursday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. at the Largo Sports Complex, 1640 McMullen Road, Largo, instead.

'But for a court order, he would still be safe in our home': Jordan Belliveau's foster parents give emotional statement on 2-year-old's murder | Full video: https://t.co/8gaqXKCpQ8 pic.twitter.com/usNvuuTDSR
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) September" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/WFLA/statu... 5, 2018

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Images via Warren family

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