The Casas Family: A 17 Year Old Goes Home

One of many miracles of Arms Wide Adoption Services is finding forever families for older children. Children who turn 18 without being adopted will “age out” of the foster care system without ever having a family to call their own. Selena Nicole was one of those children until she met Yasmin and Roy Casas in 2014.

Yasmin and Roy came to Arms Wide after seeing an ad about the agency in their local church bulletin. The Casas family did not have any children of their own and wanted to give a child a home and a family to call their own.

Initially Yasmin and Roy were looking to adopt a younger child, but as Roy says “God had a different plan for us.” They went to a meeting with their caseworker, Michelle Lopez, and the Department of Family and Protective Services, where they met Selena. At the time, Selena was 16 years old and much older than they were looking to adopt.

“We bonded with her. It was almost like she picked us,” Yasmin describes of their first meeting with Selena.

Although they were looking to adopt a young child, they feel as if Selena has been a part of their family since the beginning. “The real work starts now,” says Roy about becoming a family in August. “Now is the time to be supportive, to explain the way things are and what the expectations are in our family.” Yasmin describes their adoption process as lengthy, but worth the wait. She says, “The more you think about the process and the paperwork, the harder the wait will be. The bottom line is, that in the end you are going to have a child to call your own!”

For her 18th birthday, Yasmin says, “Selena wanted to wear a big ball gown and have a party at a beautiful venue where she and her family and friends could dance.” For the last several months, the Casas family has been planning a beautiful celebration for Selena’s 18th birthday at the end of October. They are looking forward to celebrating Selena’s 18th birthday and many more birthdays to come!