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Redwood City – Just a few years ago, Kaloma and Larin Smith made a life-changing decision: they brought little Henry into their home as a foster youth.
“By the time they said, ‘Do you want to move from a foster family to an adoptive family,’ We were like, ‘We can’t imagine our home without him,’” said Kaloma Smith, a pastor at a local church.
Today, Henry is a playful 5-year-old who likes to sit in his dad’s lap and dig holes on the beach. His brother, 16-month-old Avery sporting a toothy smile, has now joined the family.
“It was so heartwarming and beautiful to know that Avery and Henry will have each other forever,” said Larin Smith, associate director of major gifts at Stanford University School of Business. “Henry and Avery mean the world to us.”
Across the United States, about 368,000 children are dependent on the foster care system, having been temporarily or permanently removed from their biological families, according to the latest government figures.
That tally is two names shorter with the formal adoptions of Henry and Avery by the Smiths. The couple, with their two boys squirming by them, were honored Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.
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