Adopting Children with Down Syndrome

March 16, 2020 by master

The Bair Foundation Child & Family Ministries of Austin has been beyond blessed to have Loy and Kristie Beene as faithful foster and adoptive parents since 2013. The Beenes path to adoption is one that has been so clearly and faithfully led by God.

Kristie shared that she and Loy have one biological child together and had been unable to conceive any additional children. The Beenes journey to foster care and adoption initially came to fruition when Kristie learned of a situation through a mutual friend. The situation entailed a pregnant mother whose child in utero was diagnosed with Down syndrome. The mother of this child ultimately decided to terminate the pregnancy due to the child’s diagnosis. Kristie felt sadness and frustration about the situation, and turned to prayer for the Lord’s guidance in dealing with these emotions.

Kristie shared that she and Loy have one biological child together and had been unable to conceive any additional children. The Beenes journey to foster care and adoption initially came to fruition when Kristie learned of a situation through a mutual friend. The situation entailed a pregnant mother whose child in utero was diagnosed with Down syndrome. The mother of this child ultimately decided to terminate the pregnancy due to the child’s diagnosis. Kristie felt sadness and frustration about the situation, and turned to prayer for the Lord’s guidance in dealing with these emotions.

Shortly after, Loy, while employed with a local bus service, began transporting a 3 year old boy named Jesse, who had Down syndrome. Loy formed a quick attachment to Jesse and knowing that he was in the foster care system, inquired about the child’s legal status. When learning that Jesse was eligible for adoption, Loy and Kristie sought out more information about becoming foster-to-adopt parents. The Beenes attended an informational meeting through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and were provided a list of foster care agencies in the Austin area.

The Beene’s had two criteria; the agency needed to be faith based and they needed to accept placement of disabled children. Thankfully the Beenes did not have to call far down the list to land on The Bair Foundation! The Beene family was licensed on June 30th, 2013 and Jesse arrived to their home less than a month later. While it is generally standard protocol that a home must foster a child for a minimum of 6 months prior to adoption, Jesse’s adoption was granted a mere 4 months after his placement in their home!

The Beenes journey did not end there!

The family continued to foster following Jesse’s adoption, and one year later, accepted an emergency placement who would later become, Josie Beene. Like Jesse, Josie also has Down syndrome. Josie was adopted by Loy and Kristie one year later. The family continued to foster for the next several years, with the desire to grow their family by one more child. Loy and Kristie were hopeful to adopt a Downs baby girl. They were faithful in their search and 3 years later, an emergency call came which took them by surprise. A foster family was being requested for a Downs infant boy, and his twin sister! The Beenes thought things over for a few short minutes before quickly calling the office and sharing that they wanted to be considered for the children.

Almost immediately, Kristie retired from her job as she knew these infants would require all of her time, love, and attention. The Beenes have fostered “Jake” and “Julie” for over almost two years and have officially adopted them on March 5th 2020.

We have been honored to watch the Beene family keep all of their children through permanency; whether that be reunification, placement with siblings, or adoption.

They live up to their commitment to not give up on our children!

The Beenes will be retiring from foster care & we will miss them terribly, however they will always be honorable members of our Bair family. We will cherish the rest of our time with this sweet family and feel blessed to be a part of their incredible journey.