Ā Ā Ā Ā CINCINNATI, OHĀ ā Meet Robert Carter, a single man from Ohio, who is now the legal father of five children he chose to adopt. While waiting for the adoption process to be approved, he worked hard to buy a new home for his new family.
āIām relieved because I tried to go through the process before and it didnāt work out, but now Iām just happy that itās over and Iām their dad for the rest of their lives, and they know that theyāll never have to go through what they went through again,ā Carter toldĀ FOX19.
Carter started fostering the 3 brothers Robert Jr., Giovanni, and Kiontae in December 2019. Their 2 sisters, however, Marionna and Makayla, remained in the foster system and the siblings had been separated for six months.
āWe met up for visits, and all the kids were crying,ā Carter said. āThey didnāt want to leave each other, and at that moment, I knew, ok, I have to adopt all five.ā
Having grown up in foster care himself, Carter knew firsthand how hard it was to be separated from siblings.
He continues, āMy mom had nine kids, and I didnāt see my youngest again. He was two. I didnāt see him again until he was 16, so for me going through that, I knew how important it is for them to see each other and be around each other. When I had my boys before I got the girls, thatās all they talked about was their sisters.ā
Last Friday, he was officially approved by the court to adopt all five siblings. Adoption case manager Stacey Barton said she believes the family will be happy together since she had seen them.
āIāve never had a single father adopt five children,ā Barton said. āIāve had married couples who have adopted six or seven, so this was a unique experience for me. Children need families, and itās an opportunity for Mr. Carter to show the community that he can do it and others can too.ā
AĀ GoFundMeĀ fundraiser has been set up to help the family secure āa new forever home where the kids can grow into our next future leaders.ā It has already raised more than $35,000.
