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Image on screen: Oklahoma Department of Human Services Logo
Text on screen: Tommie L., 9 Years Old
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Text on screen: Cathy Y., Child Welfare Specialist
CATHY Y: Tommie has been in custody for the last two years.
The things that I really like about him is that he is so very playful, very friendly.
I’ve never known him to be unpleasant or unhappy about anything.
He rolls with things really well.
Tommie has a pretty typical day.
He gets up in the morning and he will eat breakfast, he will go to school.
Tommie has told me that he really enjoys school.
He loves learning and in fact, when I’ve shown up before to visit him and if he is in school, he can’t wait for me to be done so he can go back to school.
I would encourage you to have some Legos on hand, maybe a guitar.
He can entertain himself really easily.
He loves to go outside, loves to go bike riding.
I think if you went to the park you would have a blast with him.
I was visiting him once in his building and it was when I first learned he loved country music and as I was getting ready to leave the staff member that was with him said, hey, you know a Jason Aldean song and he belted it out and it was beautiful.
It was the best way to end my visit with him.
Tommie deserves a family.
He deserves a family that can provide him with the stability and all the love that he has to give that can reciprocate that to him.
He is a super great guy and I think that he would really thrive.
KENNETH B: It’s important for our children to find homes and they do need love, they need attention, they need affection.
Text on screen: Kenneth B., Post Adoption Services Supervisor
They need someone to let them know I care about you, someone to talk to them, to speak to them, to give them an encouraging word, to let them know it’s going to be okay, to pat them on their back every once in a while, to play with them.
Our DDS children are extremely hard to place.
Some families are just not interested.
However, our children do need homes.
They do deserve a family, they do deserve a mom and dad someone to go home to at night, someone to talk to them.
I would say the reason why our children might be so hard to place is because it might be fear, they might just see the outside, they might just hear the condition, they might just see the picture of the child and think, okay, there is no way I would be able to take care of a child with some of these issues.
I would say to the family to just be willing to give our children a chance because they can survive, they can adapt, they can be one of your children in your home surviving and doing well and thriving.
CATHY Y: Tommie, I just think he would need attention.
He would need the family to love him.
I think that he would do really well with just about anybody.
He is such an easy going kiddo.
If they had any kids I’m sure he would play with them.
Tommie does have some medical issues.
He would need to make sure and be with a family that is proactive with his health.
I think with the right family that he will really thrive.
I think Tommie has a lot of potential for anything that he would want to be or do.
Ultimately he is fantastic and any adoptive family would be lucky to have him.
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Text on screen: For more information about adopting Tommie L., please call 7-800-376-9729, or visit online at www.okfosters.org. Recorded November 20, 2018.