The Hart Family

Roger and Lisa both brought two children into their family when they got married in 1992. “We started fostering children in 1997 without even a thought about adopting.” In 2002, they were approached regarding their feelings about adopting Jason (then 7) and Rex (then 8). Both boys had special needs and they knew it would been a lifelong commitment but couldn’t imagine their lives without them in it. Both adoptions were finalized in 2003. That single conversation opened Roger and Lisa’s eyes to adoption. They then adopted Billy (then 16) after he had moved to several foster homes in 2005.  All 3 of the boys transitioned very easily from foster care to adoption because they had shared a life together for more than a year prior to adoption. “We were approached by a CASA worker to foster Devon, who had Cerebral Palsy, in 2007, which we did.  In 2008, we finalized Devon’s adoption.” Devon adjusted very well and has made huge gains in his abilities.  In 2010, the family started the process with Adopt America to adopt a sibling group. “We felt sibling groups may have a more difficult time being adopted. Our older children were graduating and leaving the house, so we had the space.” They were matched with a sibling group of four children from Michigan, Jesi (then 11), Jose’ (then 9), Tia (then 7), and Mackenzie (then 5). In 2011, they were asked to foster Ben, a newborn special needs baby. The couple had never fostered a baby before but said yes. They adopted all five children the same day in 2012!  The transition for the sibling group was much harder for the family due to their emotional special needs. During their transition, Ben was in and out of the hospital due to medical issues. Finally, they adopted Christopher (then 5) with the help of Adopt America in 2016.