Harris, in adopting five boys, has taken on the kind of kids who are the hardest to find homes for. Three of the boys -- Jericho, 7; Jeramy, 14 and Justin, 11 -- are siblings. The oldest, Tommy, 19, is autistic. The fifth adopted brother is Leo, 14. But the placement of sibling groups, that is, brothers and sisters from the same family, is difficult. Prospective adoptive parents usually seek infants, not older children. And children with health problems are also least likely to be high on the adoption list. And race and ethnicity, unfortunately, still plays a factor in the choosing of children for adoption.

The five boys are the lucky ones. Thousands of Texas children spend months and even years living in successive foster homes without ever being adopted. In 2006, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reported that 3,376 children had been adopted that year. But during that same year, 5,428 children ended the year still awaiting adoption. Many of the children awaiting adoption will simply grow out of the system without ever being adopted.

And the number of children in foster homes is growing, In part, this is an result of Senate Bill 6, legislation that grew out of scandal. In a misplaced effort to keep families together, too many children were being allowed to stay in abusive families by state workers. Tragedy was almost inevitable, one of the worst being the murder of 12-year-old Clayton Durham of Kingsville in 1999; both of his parents were sentenced to long prison terms. The reform that grew out of the Durham case and others like his have focused on removing children quicker from dangerous situations. But the reforms have also swelled the ranks of children under the care of the state. At the end of 2006, there were more than 34,000 children in state foster care.

More can be done to help generous and open-armed Texans such as Harris. The time that elapses between the time that children are removed from dangerous homes to the time that they are adopted must be shortened. That time period is now on average more than two years. In 2006, the average time that it took to get a final order to take away parental rights from an abusive birth parent was about 13 months. Judges must take a more active role in moving the system along so that children can find new homes where they will be taken care of and not abused

Texas needs more Texans such as Harris to serve as foster parents; he has a boy under his care in addition to his adopted children. Over the last 18 years he has served as foster parent for dozens of children. One way to create more foster homes would be to financially help relatives who take in children. In Texas, about 26 percent of children under the state's care live with relatives. That means one in four foster Hispanic children live with a grandparent or a relative. Living with relatives can help siblings stay together and stay tied to their extended family. But when kids are taken in by grandparents or relatives with their own children, homes on very limited incomes, they put themselves under severe economic strains.

Harris told writer Mary Ann Cavazos that he wants to adopt more kids, but can't at the moment. "My heart's big enough but my house isn't," he said. That kind of heart makes Harris a special kind of person. Let there be more like him.

http://www.caller.com/news/2007/nov/28/special-person-takes-on-raising-five-adopted-is/

Emphasis added by H4K Editor