SAN DIEGO — Kylee is only 11 years old, but has had to move more than a dozen times during her time in the foster care system.
“I’m ready to be adopted! I want a home this summer,” Kylee said when News 8 first profiled her in June 2018.
Now, 16 months later, she is still waiting to find a forever family.
Kylee was placed into foster care when she was just 4 years old, and what she is longing for is a permanent home, with the unconditional love of a forever family. She says it’s scary to be moved around from place to place, and finds it difficult to know who to trust.
“I think stability is so important for a child, and she has not had the benefit of a lot of stability,” said Sue Bieker.
Sue has been Kylee’s Court Appointed Special Advocate for nearly four years. She volunteers her time through Voices for Children to advocate for Kylee and helps her navigate through the schools and court systems. She describes Kylee, who’s in fifth grade and doing well in school, as amazingly resilient.
Kylee is understandably guarded, however, from being uprooted 13 times. Sue is hoping Kylee will find a compassionate family that will commit to helping heal her heart.
“I’ve had the benefit of knowing her for three-and-a-half years,” said Sue. “I know her heart. I know how smart she is. I know how much fun she is. I know that she just wants to love people, yet time and time again she's been let down, which is very hard, especially for an 11-year-old.”
During our time in the park together, Kylee showed me her new photo album, which is filled with pictures and memories from her seven years in foster care. Kylee’s album is one of the few things she owns that she can take with her from home to home. Sue makes sure Kylee has photos that remind her of the joy in her life. The photos are some of the only connections Kylee has to her past.
Kylee says she’s looking to find a family that makes her feel as safe as Sue and her team of social workers do. Kylee says she dreams of parents who will stand by her and not abandon her as other adults have done.
“I’m patient, but I need someone who's patient and helpful so I can get through things that are hard, so that they understand what I’m going through,” Kylee said.
At 11 years old, she is honest and self-aware, adding, “The kind of daughter I am is kind and sweet. I have lots of joy. Sometimes, I get mad but that's because I don't understand what's going on, so that makes me angry.”
She says she realizes the struggles she’s had in her young life aren’t her fault and wore a shirt to our play date at the park that said “Proud to be me”. She told me, ”I like this shirt because I’m proud to me. ‘Proud to be me’ means I’m happy. I’m alive in this world today, because I have people who care.”
What Kylee needs now is a forever family who cares and is hoping she finds one soon. She’s looking forward to filling the empty pages in the back of her photo album with new pictures of herself with her forever family.
If you are interested in adopting or becoming a foster family, please call 1-877-792-KIDS (5437) or visit the San Diego County Adoptions' home page.
News 8 would like to thank local photographer Margery Squier from Squier Photos for volunteering her time to take the Heart Gallery portraits in this story.