Jacob’s Story

The kind of family that Spaulding’s adoption staff look for when placing a child looks different for each child.

But many traits are universal and are both positive and essential to a child’s growth, development, and overall wellbeing.

The universally positive traits of a family include the ability to care for a child and meet their needs, love, patience, and support from family and kin.

This month we celebrate one such family that exemplifies those traits– and a young boy named Jacob who recently finalized his adoption after living his young life in foster care since 2016. Through the years Jacob has faced adversity, but he is fortunate to have a supportive family who all work together to make him the happy and kind child he is today.

The path to the final adoption was not short nor was it straight.

After entering foster care, Jacob’s maternal grandmother applied for adoption. The assessments, and collection of documents and training began. Sadly, this was interrupted by a global pandemic which claimed his grandmother. While trying to cope and heal from the loss of her daughter, Jacob’s great grandmother Oradell began caring for Jacob. In the family home where she raised 7 children of her own children, Oradell took on the responsibility of caring for Jacob – then an 8-year-old.

With everything in order and with the love and support of her five children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins, Jacob was finally adopted. In adoption and foster care, it is necessary to identify an alternative caregiver in case the adoptive parent can no longer care for the child. And it’s especially important when the adoptive parent is much older, as is the case with Jacob’s great grandmother. 

Among his large family, Jacob has an official alternate caregiver willing to adopt him if needed, and having this plan allowed him to stay with kin and his adoption was approved by the courts. He also benefits from other family members, church friends, coaches and teachers who can guide him along in life. Remember the expression about a village? This is it.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child and it’s true. If every child had the loving and supportive family that Jacob has, the world would be a different place.” – Sarah Terrien, IPP Specialist