It was a good day in the courtroom for case number 20172728 when five siblings, all related, were adopted by their foster parents, Wil and Julie Rom.
In Cincinnati, Ohio, these two parents decided that they could not split up all the siblings and decided to adopt them during one courtroom appearance.
“We couldn’t split them up. We have to keep the kids together,” said former foster mom, Julie.
Statically, two-thirds of children also have a sibling in foster care.
When one of the older children was asked how important it was to have all of his brothers and sisters together he said, “Really important because I love them a lot.”
“No way we were going to split them up,” mom, Julie Rom says, “We can’t separate them. It’s about the kids.”
Wil and Julie Rom took in the 5 foster siblings between 2014 and 2016 resulting in the adoption of the children.
When asked if it was a difficult decision to adopt all five kids Wil, now father of five, said “No…no. There was never a second guess. They are a package, a package deal.”
Judge Ralph Winkler, the presiding judge on their case, spoke about the sadness of siblings being separated in the system.
“The kids would miss each other if we had to separate them and most of the time they do get separated, which is a part of a sadness for those children. But these kids get to stay together forever now.”
In 2016, in the United States, there were 437,465 children in the foster care system.
Out of that number, 13,725 kids were from Ohio with only 210 children being adopted that year.
The Rom family was just five of those adoptions.
Mom, Julie said, “Having to go from a three bedroom ranch to a five bedroom two story is definitely a huge undertaking but you know it’s for the kids. It’s what is going to be best for them to keep them together.”
It was also a joyous moment for many family members and even a previous teacher of the two older children.
Former teacher, Ann Boyle, that had two of the children in her class got to be in the courtroom to witness the happy day.
“I look at these two boys right now and they are alive, their eyes are bright with wonder and they have smiles on their faces…”
“…and I could not be more grateful to Julie for letting former teachers, who have a piece of their heart in these children, to let them know that they’re okay and I’m grateful to you guys for letting me be here for this process,” said former teacher Ann with tears.
What a great day for 12 year old William, 9 year old Truth, 6 year old Mariana, 3 year old Keyora and 2 year old KJ when the gaveled pounded and the adoption was official.
Many courtrooms end with handcuffs and sad faces but for the Rom family there was cheering, smiles and clapping.
They are certianly going to be a family that is filled with love and appreciation for one another with many years of memories ready to be made.
Watch their sweet story unfold in the video below!
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Source: Youtube, Source: LOCAL12
