c7002

Child's name: Kolby
Number: C7002
Birthdate: 9/98
State: Oregon
Listed: April 2008

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

KOLBY (9/98) is an incredibly bright, delightful, inquisitive young man. His many questions often seem to come out of the blue but also indicate an acute degree of perception and insight into his surroundings. He is reading at a grade level above his own, and consequently, his vocabulary and verbal comprehension are excellent. He also has a wonderful sense of humor and enjoys being involved in teasing, sarcastic banter. Unlike most third-graders, Kolby likes to be neatly dressed, opting for nice jeans and a crisp collared shirt rather than warm ups or sweats. His smart appearance gives the impression that he is older than his nine years as does the content and nature of his conversation. Of average height and weight for his age, Kolby is an attractive boy with warm brown eyes and black hair, which he likes to wear close cropped. Kolby, who came into foster care in September 2005, is legally free.

In addition to his bright intellect, Kolby is a gifted athlete. Physically strong and agile, he has seemingly endless energy. He is quite competitive and enjoys virtually any sport – but basketball is his favorite. He plays with his peers at school and at his local community center, but he also practices dribbling and shooting hoops by himself at home. Kolby enjoys basketball to such a degree that he sees the potential for a pick-up game anywhere, even if it means using a garbage can for a hoop and a crumpled piece of paper for a ball. He welcomes opponents but don’t underestimate him, he plays to win!

Because Kolby’s normally compliant and appropriate behavior can became non-compliant and even aggressive as he continues to struggle with his significant feelings of grief and loss regarding separation from his birth mother, he needs adoptive parent(s) who can be sensitive and supportive of the level of disappointment and anxiety he is experiencing. He also, though, needs to be reminded of the expectations for safe, appropriate behaviors. Kolby’s foster parent and teachers have found that he functions very well in a highly structured, consistent, predictable environment. He enjoys playing with his peers, but he can get overwhelmed around too many children. He has been the only child for the majority of the time he’s lived in foster care, and although he states that he would like to have siblings in his adoptive family, moving into a home with other children would be an adjustment for him.

Kolby has three older half-siblings with whom he has lived on-and-off throughout his life. Some degree of openness with those siblings would be emotionally and psychologically helpful to Kolby. Given Kolby’s age and his bond with his mother, it would also be in his best interest to have some degree of openness with her as well. The degree of openness would, of course, be subject to his mother’s ability to be consistent in her communication as well as supportive of his adoptive placement.

Because two prospective adoptive placements disrupted within the past six months, to ensure that the three prospective adoptive families chosen to present to the Oregon State Adoption Committee for final selection have realistic expectations, Kolby’s caseworker and therapist will talk at length to each family to make sure that they are ready and able to successfully bring him into their family and to adopt him. His therapist further recommends that individual and family counseling be set up before Kolby even transitions into the home so support services are available at the moment that they are needed. The first disruption occurred after only two weeks when the transition itself proved to be more challenging than the first adoptive family was expecting. The second family found that the stress of bringing another child into the home too overwhelming for them. Now back in foster care, Kolby is working with his therapist to help prepare him further for adoption. Despite everything, he wants a family of his own!

Subsidy and Purchase of Service may be available.

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