A couple in Arizona adopted five children -- all of them siblings -- so they won't get separated in the foster system. Brenda and Curt Heuer have been foster parents for 12 years and took care of 52 foster children during that time.
The Heuer couple of Yavapai County in Prescott, Arizona officially adopted the five foster siblings on Nov. 19, which also marks National Adoption Day, People reported. The boys and girls are aged two, three, six, seven, and nine.
The five children have been living with Brenda and Curt since Feb. 2015. The kids loved being with their foster parents so much that they often asked the couple about "about becoming a part of the Heuer's forever family," the news outlet further reported.
Arizona parents adopt five siblings so they aren’t split up in foster care system https://t.co/u9SVM1lkFK pic.twitter.com/Ln0XH4eScH
— People Magazine (@people) November 29, 2016
Brenda told People that the kids call her and Curt "mom and dad." They always spend time together such as going to camping trips. The Heuers plan to take the children to Disneyland for their adoption celebration.
Brenda said that it's important for her and Curt to "keep these kids together," adding that being with the children was meaningful for both of them. They enjoy each other's company and Brenda and Curt are willing to do whatever it takes to be good parents to the siblings.
The Heuer couple is happy to officially welcome the kids into the family and they are excited to have a bright future with them. Brenda shared that "everything feels right" and she feels that it's their job as parents "to teach our kids right from wrong and how to be good citizens."
The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) FY 2015 data reported that there are 427,910 children in foster care as of Sept. 30, 2015. Out of that number, 52 percent are boys and 48 percent are girls.
Majority of those kids have a foster family home (non-relative) as their most recent placement setting. Many children also stayed with a foster family home (relative), while others were in group homes, institutions, trial home visits, pre-adoptive homes and supervised independent living. Some kids were runaways.
Foster care can be informal or settled via the courts or a social service agency, according to the National Adoption Center. Children in the foster care system are intended to be reunited with their birth family but that can change into adoption (which is permanent) if it suits the child best.
