A Family for Me: Shawna

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) - We have talked for years about the crisis in Arkansas regarding the foster care system. The #1 goal is for the kids to go back to their parents, but sometimes that can't happen. This leaves kids in need of a home and a family.

One of the kids in need of a family is Shawna.

Shawna is not a girly-girl.

"I like to play basketball and I'm more of a sporty person and I really don't like to wear dresses and skirts and all that," she says.

She's not shy and very talkative, says Tracy Holloway, Department of Children and Family Services specialist. "She's a lot spunky. She has a lot of personality and a lot of confidence. She's just a joy to be around."

Shawna is 16 and knows the Department of Human Services very well because she says she has been in and out of their custody since she was 3 years old.

Despite the tough road, she has been down, she looks at it as a positive.

"If I wouldn't have gone through the things I've gone through in my life right now, I wouldn't be as strong-willed and courageous," she said.

Shawna says one day, she wants to work for DHS.

"I've been through a lot in my life and I feel like I could help other people and be more involved with it than some DHS people are because I've actually been down that road most of my life," Shawna said.."I feel like it's something that has led me towards that. I feel like it's God's will."

At 16, she's legally only a kid for 2 more years, but her goal is to find a forever family.

"Shawna has chosen for her goal to be adoption," Holloway said. "She has been very adamant that there is a family for her."

Holloway said they are committed to helping her achieve her goal, adding that Shawna's needs will go on for the rest of her life. Needs that some of us may take for granted.

"A family to go home to during the holidays, during college break. A family just to be there to support her well into adulthood," Holloway said. "Someone that she can take care of as they age that takes care of her now."

If you are interested in fostering or adoption, click here: http://www.fosterarkansas.org/

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