Kristina

Kristina is an adventurous girl who has always wanted to learn to ride off-road motorcycles. According to Kristina, she has ridden quads but does not have a motorcycle of her own. She has a good sense of humor and can be a very caring and sweet girl.

Pursuing a career in the Coast Guard is something she has thought about and would like to learn more when she graduates from high school. She likes school and does pretty weill in one-on-one learning situations.

Kristina needs an emotionally supportive, safe home environment and one where she feels that she is wanted and the caregivers are committed to her. While she is likely to get very upset and angry with rules and boundaries she doesn't like, she also calms down fairly quickly and will respond better to a clear and consistent structure than anything vague and unpredictable. She is an adolescent and is struggling to find her place in the world. This will be a challenging time for her and for those she is living with. 

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Jeremiah

With his curly brown hair, big brown eyes, and dimpled smile, Jeremiah is a darling boy whose energy and zest are plentiful and contagious. He is on the move from the moment he wakes up until the moment he falls asleep, and he enthusiastically engages his environment every day.

Jeremiah loves any activity that involves physical movement or tactile stimulation. He loves movement songs, such as ''London Bridge is Falling Down,'' and tumbling and running activities. He loves any toy that offers a tactile experience, such as rubber balls with nubs on the outside or toys that vibrate. He will not play with anything that is smooth. He loves being read to, but he's only interested in books that have texture incorporated in the story, such as Pat the Bunny, or are physically interactive in some way, with flaps or pull-tabs.

Jeremiah is very physically affectionate and loves to be cuddled and snuggled. He thrives on one-on-one attention from adults and can be easily calmed by rubbing his head. He's quite conversational and will happily chat with nearly anyone for long periods of time.

Jeremiah has many older birth siblings, eight older half-siblings and one older full-sibling. He has not met two of the oldest half-siblings, but he has had at least some contact with the rest of the siblings, two of them in particular. For various reasons, it was not possible for Jeremiah to live in the same placement as any of his older siblings. Certainly, it is in his best interest to continue having contact with them as he grows.

Jeremiah needs and deserves a loving, committed family to call his own. He needs a family who understands the underlying biological reasons for his developmental and behavioral challenges and who can be patient and loving in their efforts to manage and mold those challenges.

Jeremiah's family needs to offer a structured daily routine and have a firm, consistent method for handling his behavioral outbursts. They need to be affectionate and physically demonstrative of their love for Jeremiah because tactile connections are what best reassures him. Although Jeremiah loves children and would benefit from frequent interaction with children, it would be best for him to be either an only child or one of a small sibling group, given his need for a significant amount of individual attention. He also does best with large pets or no pets at all as he can be unintentionally quite rough. 

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Angel

Angel is an amazing African-American teen with plenty of spunk and personality. Her favorite activities include swimming, gymnastics, dancing, reading and singing. Angel has shown her considerable talent by choreographing a dance performance with her peers for a talent show at school. The audience thought her performance was spectacular and full of energy. Angel has been part of a dance troupe that performs African dances for the public. She has loved it for several reasons, one being that she got paid! Angel exudes a confidence that allows her to express her needs, especially when it comes to her future.

Angel is described as tender-hearted. She will often ask what she can do to help when a peer is sad or upset. It is clear that Angel loves her family and eagerly looks forward to monthly visits with her brothers and her grandmother and great aunt. Her grandma, who lives out of state, keeps in contact with Angel through phone calls and some visits when she is in the area.

Angel has made it clear that she wants to live near her brothers and has accepted the idea of being adopted and having a permanent home. It will be important for Angel's adoptive parents to take the time to understand her history and experiences so that they can help her move forward in a healthy direction.

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