The Detra McCollum family was featured in a story Nov. 19 on adopting special needs children.

        The slice-of-life story glimpsed into the lives of six children, Jada, Tekeya, Michico, LeVar, Devonna and Nicole, who were welcomed as new family members by Ms. McCollum and her two birth children, Mariah and DeRonn.

        Although the family had no second thoughts about being featured in the story, one member did have one regret.

        “Nicole, my oldest daughter, regrets that she did not take the picture with the rest of the kids,” Ms. McCollum says of the family portrait that appeared with the story.

        “She told me that many of her teachers and her peers responded positively to the article as well. When asked was this her family in the paper, she responded, “Yes, this is my family and I am adopted!' ”

        They're currently preparing for Nicole's high school graduation in May and Tekeya's upcoming adoption ceremony.

        Hamilton County Family Services' Adoptable Children Web site, www.hcadopt.org, was also featured in the story. They received a 32 percent increase in information requests in November through January. The site overall saw an average of more than 3,800 hits per month during the same period.

        “We continued to see a steady increase in interest each month,” says Laurie Petrie, a spokesperson for the agency. Most asking about specific children were adults who had already completed the screening process to become foster parents, which considerably shortens the preparation time of uniting foster parent with child.

        Of the 10 children featured on the Wendy's Restaurant trayliner, two were matched with families to begin the process of fostering, and one boy has been placed with a foster mother.

        Of the 100-plus listed on the Web site in November, 14 are in the process of joining their new families.

        Eleven children were added to the roster of adoptable special needs children in Hamilton County, which continues to average 80-100 children waiting for a family.

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