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Alissa and Kevin
Oregon

Basic Info

Alissa

Age: 30
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Religion: Christian

Kevin

Age: 30
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, Native American
Religion: Christian

Child Preferences

Age: Infant to 8 years old
Sex: Either
Max Number of Children: 2
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, African American, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Mixed, Bi-Racial, Unknown

Special Needs the Family is Open To: Any Child (Open to Discussion), Animal Allergies, Asthma, Drug Allergies, Environmental Allergies, Food Allergies, Defiant, Difficulty in Attaching, Difficulty Making Friends, Encopresis, Lying, Manipulative, Poor Social Skills, Self-Abuse, Tantrums-Severe, Wets the Bed, Failure to Thrive, Low Birth Weight or Premature, Prenatal Drug Exposure, Requires Life-long Medical Treatment, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physically Disabled-Mild, Deaf, Hearing Impaired, Speech Delays - Mild, Speech Delays - Moderate, Vision Impaired, Anorexia/Bulimia, Hoarding, Overeating, Pica, Academically behind due to poor attendance, Cognitive Delay - Mild, Expulsion(s), Has Behavior Problems in School, Mild Learning Disabilities, Moderate Learning Disabilities, Speech or Language Impairment, Suspension(s), One/Both Parents Diagnosed with Depression, One/Both Parents Have Alcohol Addiction, One/Both Parents Have Drug Addiction, One/Both Parents Diagnosed with Bipolar, Exposed to Domestic Violence, One/Both Parents Have Had a Mental Diagnosis, Child has had a disrupted adoption, Multiple Placements, Limited Life Expectancy Due to Illness, ADHD, Arthritis, Cancer, Diabetes, Down Syndrome, Epilepsy, Heart Disorder: May Require Surgery, Hemophilia, Missing Limbs: May Require Prosthesis, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizures, Sickle Cell Disease, Sickle Cell Traits, Adjustment Disorder, Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Depression, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Requires Medication For Psychiatric Condition/Mental Health Diagnosis, Requires Counseling/Therapy, Runaway - Occasionally, Runaway - Past, Willing to Maintain Contact via Mail with Bio Family, Willing to Maintain Contact with Past Foster Parents, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Grandparents & Other Relatives, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Siblings, Child Identifies as LGBT, Sexually Abused in the Past

Environment

State: Oregon
Neighborhood: Suburban
Residency:
Years Together: 5
Children in the Home: 1
Pet(s): Dog(s), farm animal(s)

Work

Alissa

Occupation: Registered nurse

Kevin

Occupation: Deputy sheriff

Adoption Agency

Agency: A Family For Every Child
Worker: Mae Salas
Worker: mae@afamilyforeverychild.org
City: Eugene
State: Oregon
Zip: 97402

Family Description

we are a loving active family excitedly waiting for 1-2 more children to add to our family. We feel that children 8 yrs old and younger who are active and love getting outdoors would be the best fit for us. We are open to both sexes of children and sibling sets. We would love our new children no matter their race and are able to care for children with mild medical/special needs. We love getting outdoors, traveling and spending time together as a family. We have a 3yr old son who asks everyday when he can meet his new sister and brother. We live in new home with a big backyard to play in and even two dogs to enjoy playing fetch with. Our community is family oriented with lots of parks and schools within walking distance. We would be open to contact with the children's bio-family as long as the relationship was healthy for all parties. We are supportive parents who look forward to helping our children grow into their true potential and will advocate and love them through the process.

Preference Description

We would prefer children who are 8 yrs old or younger. If a single child we would prefer a female, but are open to discussion. If two children we would like one of them to be female and the other child could be either gender. we are not partial to race.

The Barlow Family Profile

We are an active family who loves to get outdoors. We feel that either a sibling set of 2 or one single child would best fit our family. We currently have a 3 yr old son and feel that children 8 yrs old and younger would fit best in our family. We are not partial to race and can provide care for mild health issues. we will honor our new family members unique traits and personality and aim to include things they enjoy doing everyday. we will also maintain previous relationships if they are positive for the child.

Introduction

We love to get outdoors as a family and spend time together. We enjoy hiking, fishing, walking on the beach, and traveling to new places. When at home we enjoy walking our two dogs, going to the park daily, playing with toys and various family games, watching movies with popcorn and reading books before bedtime. Alissa works as a nurse at the local hospital 3 days a week. Alissa's work schedule is flexible as she is able to pick the days she works. Kevin works in law enforcement 4 days a week and is able to change his schedule every 6 months as needed. We understand that the transition period for the children will be filled with lots emotions and a lot of new things for both the child and our family, therefore both Kevin and I plan to take 12 weeks off during this time.

Home and Community

We live in a home filled with love and laughter. Our home was recently built and has a big backyard for playing in. We live in a small town that has multiple parks in it to visit. We are close with many of our neighbors and having block parties together. Our neighborhood has plenty of other kids to play with they can't wait to have more to join in. There is a elementary and middle school within walking distance, both of which have high ratings and focus on individual learning and growth.

Parenting Experience

We currently have one 3 yr old son, who cant wait to be called brother and share his toys and his love for his siblings. Kevin is an amazing dad who loves to take his children fishing and hiking or even just to the carousel and park for the day. Kevin's greatest strength as a parent is loyalty and devotion to provide a loving and stable home to his children. Alissa also loves to get outdoors and play at parks. When indoors we love building forts or baking something sweet and watching movies with popcorn. Alissa's greatest strength as a parent is her patience and kindness, she will always be your biggest fan. As an Uncle to three nephews and dad to one son, Kevin has lots of experience with boys, but also looks forward to what the future holds whether it be a son or daughter. Alissa was a nanny for many families throughout high school and college. Alissa also enjoys playing with her three nephews and son, but looks forward to the potential days ahead of braiding hair and painting little nails. Kevin and Alissa would love either a girl or boy or both to join our family. Both Kevin and Alissa have attended various trainings and read books about parenting to prepare themselves, including but not limited to: required foundations training, the book- The connected parent and the Connected Child, Trauma and how to assess and manage it in children and positive family outcome training. We are open to further training and education as needed in order to serve our family best.

Support

We have a great amount of family close to us and even more a days drive away. Alissa's parents live just 15 mins away and we are supported and spend time with them at least twice weekly, Alissa's sister, husband and three boys also live 15 mins away and look forward to having future cousins to play with. Alissa's extended family is within an hour drive and visit often. Kevin's father lives in our home and enjoys getting to see his grand children daily. Most of the rest of Kevin's family lives in California, only a days drive away and we often drive down or receive visits from various members throughout the year. I can say that without a doubt everyone is excited to welcome our new children into this family. As parents, Kevin and Alissa know that this transition will come with great times and difficult times. As a family we will support each other and promise to be patient, loving and always loyal to our children. As a family we will attend therapy, as well as get each child their own therapy if needed. Children will be shown healthy ways to cope with trauma they have endured through this process. We will also support our new children's chosen activities, the same as we support our current Childs interests.

Motivation to Adopt

As a family we believe that if something is worth doing then it will take time and hard work. As parents we are committed to adopting and adding to family through adoption. We would agree that adoption has its challenges, but we will make it through them together. We believe that a family is labeled by people that love each other no matter where they come from or what they look like. We are committed to seeking out services for our children depending on their needs. we plan to attend therapy as a family and will support our children if they feel they need additional help.