Safe Families: An Unusual Ending to a Safe Families Placement

Kelli, a single mom with twin teenagers, describes her first Safe Families placements as enjoyable but somewhat routine. Then along came Brayden, who changed her life forever.

"The biological mom, Deb, was having a lot of emotional issues and was very unstable," Kelli says. "Over the next few months, I realized that she was putting herself into very unsafe situations and associating with dangerous people.

As much as she believed in Safe Families' commitment to return children to their biological families whenever possible, Kelli was uneasy about Brayden's long-term well-being.

She was relieved when Deb asked her to adopt Brayden, and the adoption became final in early 2010. He is now three years old.

"Some of my friends and family members thought I was crazy to adopt," says Kelli. "But I felt like I didn't really have a choice - it was a matter of just walking by faith. Brayden is doing just great now-he's a typical little boy who keeps us laughing. It's so good to know that God's hand was in every detail of bringing him to our family."