Finding a Family: Chloe
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS (KNWA/KFTA) — At almost 17 years old, Chloe, whose been in foster care since she was 6, is getting closer and closer to aging out without a family.
“What do I do if I don’t find a family?” she told Kelsey Jones, her adoption specialist with the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services.
Jones said this is a question she hears from many teens in the foster care system. She went on to say Chloe needs a family because, like adults, “Just because you leave a parent’s home doesn’t mean you don’t want somebody to go to.”
Chloe was featured as part of KNWA/FOX24’s monthly Finding a Family series in 2017 and then again in 2021. Now in 2024, she is still waiting to be adopted.
Her life before and during foster care has been difficult, to say the least. She was taken into the state’s care due to homelessness.
According to Jones, Chloe had been living with her parents and siblings out of a vehicle. Substance abuse issues led to her parents being arrested and they ended up losing custody of her and her siblings.
Jones also pointed out that Chloe was exposed to drugs in utero so developmentally she is a little different than most 16-year-olds.
“She’s more than just a child being in foster care, and I think she has had to identify as that for so long that I think she gets lost in that,” Jones said.
Over the last decade, Chloe has watched as her siblings find families, while she has patiently waited for the right parents for her.
“She’s seeing other foster kids be adopted. She has seen siblings be adopted. She was separated from her siblings, so that’s been hard. She longs for a family,” Jones said.
“My main goal is when I do find a family for me, that they will say that they’re going to keep me and not give me up,” Chloe said.
That’s happened to her twice. On two separate occasions, she was almost adopted, but those placements fell through.
“When I first came back [into] foster care I was like really sad. I wasn’t acting right, and I had nightmares a lot.”
“She’s just really tried to overcome a lot of the trauma she experienced when she was with her parents and then just navigating growing up in foster care,” Jones said.
These different experiences have caused Chloe to struggle with her behavior at times, but she is actively working on her issues. She wants a family who will support her as she continues to better herself.
“There will be some times where I may burst out or get angry and say things I don’t mean, but I’ll eventually talk about it with them and help get through it,” she said.
Jones said an ideal home for Chloe would be structured and nurturing where she’s the only child so she can be the family’s main focus.
“She is going to require a lot of attention. She’s not been given that attention, so she craves that,” Jones said. “A family that can be honest with her and really set those boundaries and be just strict with those boundaries.”
While there has been a lot for her to overcome, Chloe has grown into a kind and compassionate young woman over her ten years in the foster care system.
“I used to be… antisocial and now I’m starting to slowly be social and learn how to talk to others and try to be more secure,” Chloe said.
Her career aspirations prove just how secure she has become.
“I kind of want to be a model just to… get myself out there and just dream big,” she said.
“When she sees those pictures it kind of does boost her self-esteem,” Jones said.
One March afternoon in Downtown Fayetteville Chloe got to have a photo shoot with photographer David Killingsworth who works in creative services at KNWA/FOX24. She was willing to try everything in front of the camera from serious poses to smiling.
“I laughed at myself and giggled like I did earlier because y’all were being silly… it just helps me get through the day sometimes,” she said.
Chloe also dreams of traveling the world. “I would love to go to Paris one day and go to the Eiffel Tower and learn how to speak French.”
In addition to watching movies, Chloe envisions making art, specifically diamond paintings, going shopping, reading and swimming with her parents.
“I know that there’s a family out there for her,” Jones said.
Learn more about Chloe and other foster teens, kids and sibling groups eligible for adoption in the state on the Arkansas Heart Gallery.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24.
