Editor's Note: Window on the Clearwater has joined the Wednesday's Child network to help spread the word about children that are waiting for families to give them the loving care that they need. Each Wednesday we will profile a different child. For more information about Wednesday's Child and how you can be involved check the web site at: http://www.idahowednesdayschild.org/.

Kaylee

Age: 13

Profile provided by NWAE

Kaylee is a lively teenage girl with tons of potential. A bright young lady with an observant, perceptive mind, she has excellent language skills and loves engaging in meaningful conversation with adults. Kaylee says that it is very important to her that adults speak to her directly and honestly. Outgoing, opinionated, determined, and not at all afraid to stand up for what she believes in - Kaylee has the makings of a future leader. In fact, she has expressed interest in participating in student leadership at her middle school. An eager learner who functions at or above grade level in all subject areas, Kaylee enjoys helping classmate with assignments. Her teachers are fond of her.

Kaylee can be a kind and loving girl with adults and with other kids, especially those who are a bit older or much younger than she is. She is especially fond of infants and toddlers and is skilled at enthusiastically engaging with young children at exactly their developmental level. While she spends most of her time at school and doing homework, Kaylee enjoys shopping, bowling, and roller skating in her free time.

Kaylee, who came into foster care most recently in 2009, is in critical need of a loving, experienced adoptive family. Because Kaylee is not yet legally free, interested families need to be licensed for foster care and have an approved adoption homestudy completed.

Kaylee would do best with adoptive parents who have experience or are willing to learn about youth who have a trauma history. They would be able to understand a teen who has learned to take charge within a chaotic and unpredictable environment. Within a supportive family that builds trust, keeps promises and celebrates responsible decisions, Kaylee could thrive.

A parent's understanding of trauma-based healing within loving relationships would be important to Kaylee's and her family's success. Can your family provide structure, consistency, and accountability at home and at school? Do you understand that challenges from early life events can resurface at different developmental stages? Modeling desired behavior, encouraging and noticing improvements will be important as Kaylee continues to make sense of her world.

Kaylee has made great progress in school within a plan that recognizes there may be days when she is feeling emotionally overwhelmed. She can then seek support from her teachers and receive it. This plan works at home as well.

Kaylee's adoptive family will need to be compassionate and creative in their parenting strategies and to have very realistic expectations for how long it will likely take to earn her trust and affection. Ideally, Kaylee's adoptive home would have a stay-at-home parent who could be available to her at all times outside of school. She enjoys being with other children, but peer relationships can be more difficult to figure out. A family with children either quite a bit older or quite a bit younger than Kaylee may be the best fit.

Kaylee's adoptive family needs to have an unshakable commitment to her and a strong support network of family, friends, and community resources that support that commitment, knowing that a disrupted adoption for a child with Kaylee's history would most certainly be devastating for her ability to attach to or trust any future caregiver.

For an individual such as Kaylee who has experienced significant loss, being able to continue to have contact with her younger brother through childhood and adolescence will be emotionally and psychologically beneficial for her. It is also in Kaylee's best interest to have some degree of ongoing contact with her birth mother. The family chosen to adopt her will need to be open to participating in a mediated agreement for contact.

To find out more about Kaylee, adoption or becoming a foster parent, email the Idaho CareLine (Please include your zip code and city.) or call 1-800-926-2588. Kaylee are available for adoption through the State of Oregon.

Wednesday's Child Archives...