Heart Gallery: Foster parent shortage in EP & kid’s yearning to be adopted

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The dream of any kid is to grow up in a loving, supporting home.  As part of a program called "Heart gallery of El Paso", ABC-7 anchor PAUL CICALA continues to profile some amazing children in the borderland who want to be adopted.

El Paso: Meet 17-year-old Nelly, who still has dreams of being adopted.

"I want to have my own room, so I can decorate it all how I want," said Nelly, who's currently in Houston because there aren't enough foster families in her hometown of El Paso, TX.

Nelly dreams of being able to travel to Florida one day, since she's never been to the ocean, and said, "I love swimming, so I think, going to the beach, there's really no limit of how far you can swim to one end."

She added:  "I would love to get adopted in El Paso because I would see more memories of my childhood years, and be like, 'Wow, I've overcome that."

As of May of this year, 230 children are in "substitute care" in El Paso County, and 102 of these kids are placed outside of El Paso.  That's nearly 45%.

El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez underscored the severity of the situation. "Almost half of all children are sent outside of El Paso County for temporary placement—away from their families, schools, and community—making reunification with their parents significantly more difficult," Sanchez stated.

A recent press release by her office said: "The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the County Attorney’s Offices and other child welfare stakeholders today announced the launch of a year-long effort aimed at increasing the availability of licensed foster and adoptive parents in El Paso County. This campaign seeks to address the critical gap between the number of children needing out-of-home placement and the limited availability of suitable, licensed foster homes within the region."

Meanwhile, Nelly said, "l just hope to be adopted before I turn 18."

If you'd like to learn more about Nelly, or other kids in the Heart Gallery of El Paso, you can go to their website: www.heartgalleryelpaso.org.

The non-profit is part of an initiative of the Paso Del Norte Community Foundation to promote adoption -right here- in the borderland.

KVIA Anchor Paul Cicala will profile a kid who's hoping to be adopted every month in a special segment with the Heart Gallery of El Paso.  You can look out for the stories on upcoming broadcasts of ABC-7 at 6 p.m.