This past year, 40% of our kids came to Cookson Hills for one reason: Failed Adoptions. Also known as adoption dissolution, it is heavy and, honestly, really difficult to talk about.
Failed adoptions can happen for several reasons. But while the reason changes, the outcome is always the same: A child who has already felt abandoned by their parents is now feeling abandoned again by their adoptive parents. Trauma on top of trauma. It’s hard on everyone involved, including the adoptive parents.
“I was born to parents who struggled with addiction. After some failed attempts at sobriety, my little brother and I wound up in foster care when I was ten years old. At 14 years old, we were adopted by a great Christian family. I loved my adopted family, but I had to take care of myself and my little brother for the majority of my life. So when we were adopted, it was difficult adjusting to having parents who would take care of me.”
Did Alec appear to be defiant and unwilling to work with adults? Absolutely. But was that what was really going on? Not even close.
Alec was seen as defiant because he was so used to being the provider and protector for himself and his brother that the sudden positive change in lifestyle was difficult to accept. Alec didn’t understand how to be a kid, how to be unconditionally loved, or how to be a part of a family.
Sadly, Alec’s case is not unique. That’s why Cookson Hills gives kids like Alec home, school, and therapy.
You can allow kids to move from feeling abandoned to feeling cherished. Your gift will help bring kids home to Cookson Hills, and give kids like Alec a lot of ‘firsts’ like: