AUSTIN, Texas — As a child growing up in the foster care system, aging out of care without being adopted is a common and understandable fear – especially as a teenager.
Kayla is 14 years old and has been in foster care since she was five. Her dream is to be adopted by the time she gets to college.
"I feel like whenever I grow up and whenever I age out of foster care, whenever I go to college, I'm not going to have a family to go back on Spring Break, Christmas Break, Winter Break," Kayla said. "[I'm] upset because I want a family that will love me for who I am."
There's something about an old roller rink that brings out the inner child in everyone. KVUE's Hannah Rucker met up with Kayla at Playland Skate Center, a local spot that is celebrating its 50th year in business this year!
PHOTOS | Forever Families: Meet Kayla
Kayla has three siblings who are all also in foster care. Although they won't be adopted together, she wants to remain in contact them.
Kayla loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. She also loves unicorns, rainbows and all things sparkly.
To learn more about Kayla or to put in an inquiry to adopt her, visit her page on the Heart Gallery of Central Texas.
KVUE launched the Forever Families segment with Partnerships for Children (PFC) in June 2020 to highlight children in the Heart Gallery of Central Texas who need secure and permanent families. Every day, there are nearly 1,000 children waiting to get adopted in Central Texas, according to PFC.
All photos taken by Lewis Guapo.
Editor's note: The children who are in the Heart Gallery program and featured in KVUE's Forever Families segments are children who have had every effort made on their behalf to connect them with family or others in their community to provide options for permanent, adoptive homes. Through no fault of their own, that hasn’t happened yet, and so in partnership with the Department of Family and Protective Services, we collaborate to bring awareness to KVUE viewers about these children in the hopes of finding them permanency before they age out.