He is a very active kid who enjoys many sports, including basketball, soccer and gymnastics.
When playing outside, Tyler loves to jump on the trampoline and go swimming. When playing inside, he likes to be creative and make roads out of tracks and blocks.
He also enjoys playing games on his tablet, watching silly YouTube videos and playing with his favorite toy, a vacuum that spins with lights and sounds.
Tyler is autistic. He likes school and gets great reports from his teachers. He loves to learn and enjoys reading. His
favorite book series is Pete The Cat.
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Could you mentor a teen in foster care?
One of the things our older kids need most is someone to help them with the transition from being in care with us to living on their own. Someone they can ask for help and advice. Someone who might invite them over for Thanksgiving dinner.
One of the ways to get involved with our older kids is through HEMI, the Higher Education Mentoring Initiative. It's a collaboration that matches kids with mentors who help them stay in school, look for colleges, etc.
If you are interested in helping a teen, email HEMImentors@uc.edu.
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Look who's on TV: Our kids waiting for families
We're always looking for more ways to talk up adoption and to showcase the wonderful kids we have waiting for their permanent families.
So we were thrilled when CitiCable, the city of Cincinnati's government access channel, agreed to do a show about adoption and our kids.
Director Moira Weir and local video consultant, Laure Quinlivan, taped the intro last week, discussing our increasing need for adoptive families.
We'll let you know when it's going to air so you can tune in or DVR it.
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Getting a head start
on the holidays
Christmas will be here before we know it and we all tend to get so busy in December. So we're starting now to gather donated gifts and gift cards, with some special attention this year to kinship families and our kids in Independent Living. With our numbers growing, we will be trying to provide some holiday cheer to more kids than we ever have before.
So we'll be looking for toys for kinship family kids as well as gift cards for the family, such as for Kroger or Target. We're also hoping for some donations for our older teens who live in sparse apartments, including appliances or maybe a small TV.
We're going to be working with
Jack's Closet, the free clothing closet at Clough United Methodist Church in Anderson Township. Members there are working on some things for kinship families, who don't get nearly the financial support that our foster families do.
We're also working with Amber Gray on a new effort for our older teens. Known for her basketball skills, Gray is building her foundation, called
Where2Next. She wants to mentor our teens and help them think about their next steps. She and her team are hoping to have a holiday party for our IL kids.
We typically get a lot of calls in December from people wanting to "adopt" our kids for the holidays. We are so grateful for the help. If you are thinking about doing that, feel free to
email us and we can connect you with the size and type of recipient you're hoping to help.
Thank you and (early) Merry Christmas!
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| Adoption Day in Hamilton County, 2017. |
Getting ready for National Adoption Month
This year marks the 18th year that National Adoption Day ceremonies have been held across the country. More than 450,000 kids remain in foster care in the United States today, many of them ready and waiting for permanent families.
Probate Judge Ralph Winkler has set the date for Hamilton County's mass adoption ceremony - Nov. 2. He will preside over the adoptions that day of 13 children into 10 families.
Stay tuned - we will send out the livestream link on social media so you can watch. Get the tissues!
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Free conference for LGBTQ, allied youth
 This free event draws youth from all over Greater Cincinnati. If you know someone who would be interested in going or presenting at the conference, here's what you need to know:
GLSEN Greater Cincinnati Youth Summit, Oct. 27, Northern Kentucky University student union. It begins with a resource fair, lunch and workshops and ends with dinner, a drag show and dance.
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