In the Forever Family series over the last year, we have introduced you to kids in the Foster Care System that have been cleared to be adopted. Each child in the custody of the State there through no fault of their own.

We want to show you success stories before we get back to telling the stories of kids who are looking for their forever home. This is the story of 8-year-old Jay Daniel Crutchfield.

He entered into foster care as a toddler. And was in a couple of placements before going back to his biological parent. Then after a time he was placed back into foster care because his biological family just wasn’t able to care for him. Shannon and Brandy Crutchfield answered the call and brought Jay home and realized he fit in just perfectly and both Jay and his foster parents wanted to make it permanent.

After the required time, the Crutchfield family made their family complete. On National Adoption Day in November 2022, Jay and his parents and siblings stood before a large crowd and proclaimed Jay as an official Crutchfield family member. His parents describe him as being extremely intelligent. Jay loves to take things apart and put them back together…His mom Brandy saying with a huge smile on her face, “He is all boy. Sometimes he takes things apart we shouldn’t be.”

Dad, Shannon Crutchfield, says, “I feel humbled to be the one to do a lot of the things he hadn’t been able to do that a dad and son should be able to do together. I just got to be the one that God provided for him.”

Jay came into three siblings when he was brought into the family. Brother Dion, Sister Haley, and little brother by one whole month, Luke. The two of them instant best friends. And let me tell you they play like all other brothers, and both are super excited about the upcoming Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Who are they cheering for? “The Chiefs, Kansas City, and the Chiefs are going to win! Not the Eagles.”

Shannon and Brandy telling me since the adoption was final, they have all been able to relax more. Brady stating, “He knows his place and I mean, in a sense of in a positive place. You know, he knows he belongs.”

The question anyone reading this may be asking, how hard is it to become a foster family and to go through the ups and downs and all of the trainings? The Crutchfields say, “Is it easy, No. But it is absolutely worth it. I think sometimes the fear we focus on so much is on how it’s going to affect us. And we focus less on how it will affect them. So, the inconvenience of yes sometimes there’s rules and things. Those inconveniences are minor to consider that you give someone a home and a positive experience, maybe the first positive experience that they’ve ever had.”

They go on to address the range of emotions, “You kind of guard your heart. When they left it’s kind of what we’ve always told our kids is if it doesn’t hurt when they leave, then we didn’t do it right. Because you are supposed to bond. Shannon says, “Sometimes you have to look at it as it’s like a season in your life and their life and it’s you don’t just want to make it a good experience for them and for yourself. If it works out forever isn’t that great? If not, it’s you know you hope you’ve planted some seeds that they can grow later in life.

So, for this family…Success. A family complete and a child forever with a family that loves him and wants the very best for him. Congratulations to the Crutchfield family!