December 2, 2024

What is the age limit to be adopted? The answer might surprise you…there is none! In the state of Massachusetts, there is no specific age requirement for a child or young adult to be adopted. Jazmín, a former youth in our care, put this theory to the test and proved it’s truly never too late to find your forever family.

The Plummer Youth Promise team first met Jazmín when she was a 17-year-old living in a youth group home and began working with our Permanency specialists. Even though she had a family that loved her, they were unable to provide her with the care she needed. Jazmín was devastated and desperately wanted to return to a loving family environment. She was a bright and determined teenager, but she had mental health illnesses and trauma that she needed to navigate. She also had a troubled past and spent time in juvenile lock up. Despite these challenges, the Plummer team continued to root for her. We recognized these behaviors were not indicative of who she was inside. This was a call for help that our team was ready to answer.

Once Jazmín turned 18, she had aged out of the required care of Department of Children and Families (DCF) services. It’s not easy to become a young adult aging out of the foster care system and having no family to fall back on. Jazmín still struggled with anxiety and the feelings of abandonment stemming from past trauma and losing her family. With the help of our dedicated Permanency social workers, Jazmín transitioned to our First Apartment program. She settled into her new home, attended cosmetology school, and focused on developing her life skills.

Jazmín slowly began taking the necessary steps to achieve mental wellbeing with the emotional support provided by our team. We focused on teaching her effective coping strategies and set her living arrangement goals. We believe it’s critical for a youth to have an active participation in planning for family relationships and their future. Jazmín wanted to be adopted, and we were determined to help her reach that goal.

As a young adult, this was a unique challenge. According to the National Council for Adoption, only 12% of children adopted from foster care were ages 13-17 (AFCARS FY22 Report, 2024). Jazmín had already passed this point. Even though the chances of adoption lower with older age, the Plummer team refused to give up. We continued to advocate tirelessly for Jazmín and worked with our partners at the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE). Just before her 22nd birthday, Jazmín was approved to create a profile on the MARE website.

Defying the odds, requests were flooding in from families all over Massachusetts who wanted to adopt Jazmín after seeing her adoption profile. An adoption worker remarked, “In all my years, I’ve never seen such a response.”  Hopeful parents recognized an ambitious, dynamic young woman looking for a loving family and a safe place to call home. Everyone who watched her video connected with a message that we’ve always stood by: every young person deserves a family, no matter what age. The response to her profile and video was immediate and dozens of families wanted to meet her. The hard part, of course, was finding the family that was right for Jazmín.

Maintaining cultural connections and honoring racial identity is critical for ensuring an adopted child can transition smoothly into their new family. As someone with a Latina interracial background, we knew it was very important to find a family who could relate to her on a deeper level and understand her diverse experiences as a person of color.

After meeting several families, Jazmín finally connected with an interracial couple with two young children. The family had a similar racial background which allowed Jazmín to seamlessly fit in like a natural relative. She instantly connected with her newfound family and became adopted at age 22.

Jazmín’s dream of finding a family finally had come true. Her story serves as a testament to the power of Jazmín’s strong-willed determination and the strength of Plummer’s unwavering commitment to never give up on our promise of family for everyone.