Kids & Family
‘I’ll Do Anything,’ Says Boy Who Wants To Be Adopted
"I want to be adopted because I get beat up in my group home," says one of hundreds of Oklahoma kids waiting to be adopted.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Jeremiah, 10, sees his predicament with wisdom and clarity beyond his years: Time is running out for him to be adopted, and if a family doesn’t come along soon, he may never leave the group home where he says some of the other kids have beat him up.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services took custody of Jeremiah three years ago, and though he’s years away from aging out of the foster care system, worry that he’ll simply live out his childhood in the group home weighs heavy on the boy.
“I want to be adopted because I get beat up in my group home,” he told television station KFOR for its “A Place to Call Home” series.
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“By the time I'm 18, I might not be adopted by then and I don't want that to happen to me,” Jeremiah said. “And I don’t want to be in a group home until I’m 18.”
Jeremiah likes video games and swimming at the YMCA, but also dreams of going fishing and riding a horse with his future family. He has a distinct picture in his mind:
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“There would be a nice woman. There would be a nice husband. There would be nice kids. There would be pets,” he said. “I’ll do anything for them.”
In Oklahoma, 8,500 children are in Department of Human Services custody, and 635 of them are awaiting adoption, according to the agency’s website. Nationally, more than 400,00 kids are in foster care.
Their average age is 8, and there are slightly more boys than girls, according to federal data. Most kids are in foster care for about a year, and the majority are reunited with their families. Only about a quarter of them are adopted.
KFOR has been featuring kids in the Oklahoma foster system for three years in its “A Place to Call Home” series, which aims to help match them with forever families.
If you’re interested in adopting Jeremiah or any other children in the Oklahoma foster system, call Tom Peterson at (405) 325-9398. If you’re interested in becoming a foster parent, call the hotline at (800) 376-2979 or click here.
You can learn more about Jeremiah below:
Photo: Romolo Tavani / Shutterstock
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