View: Wednesday's Child video for Bailey

If you have completed an adoption homestudy and would like to have your information forwarded to this child's worker, contact us.

BAILEY (2/96) is a very loving and playful child. His favorite pastimes are sports and outdoor activities and school related events. He responds well to one-on-one time with his caretaker and counselor. And when he has adults around him who assist him and direct him in a positive and joyful manner, Bailey is quite responsive. Bailey does have the ability to communicate well with his foster parents and teacher. Legally free, Bailey came into foster care in 2005.

Because Bailey has characteristic of fetal alcohol effects (e.g., high energy, attention difficulties, and difficulty understanding the relationship between cause and effect), it is essential for him at home and at school to have calm, patient, attentive parents and teachers willing to provide the frequent daily reminders and redirection that help him stay on track. His parents also need to be willing to assist him in completing other daily activities, including his self care tasks. Because he doesn’t grasp cause and effect, he is not able to learn from experience, and each day is like starting all over again. Of course, he struggles socially, and the frustration he experiences can result in some aggressiveness toward other children. And his behavior can seem to be oppositional when it is not. Bailey parent(s), of course, will need to be strong advocates for the educational supports and other developmental services that will help him to realize his potential.

Since early 2006 Bailey has been in the care of caregivers who were his first foster placement when he was four years old, and who have been a part of his life throughout several of his moves and transitions. They have continued to be a respite placement for Bailey over the years and want to remain a resource for him and for his adoptive family. Their bond with him has been a very stable, important connection.

Bailey is currently attending a counseling program that is assisting him in developing tools to better manage his behavior. Counseling is also helping him deal with his feelings of grief and loss.

In school, Bailey has an individual education plan to help him academically and behaviorally. He has been referred to an educational advocacy program. Bailey has just finished the sixth grade.

Bailey’s social worker is looking for folks who have a good grasp of the range of effects of fetal alcohol exposure, and who have the stamina, patience, and calmness to meet this delightful boy’s needs. He needs adoptive folks who will make sure he has the educational, vocational, and social services he needs to reach his potential, and who will take pride in his heritage and help him feel connected to his African American roots. Bailey is eligible for SSI and could be eligible for adoption support.


Subsidy and Purchase of Service may be available.

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