A Florida teenager’s birthday became extra special after he was officially adopted just hours before his turning 18. Roman Balassaitis had met Renee and Brad Balassaitis when he was 12 years old and living in a group home. He would often visit the Balassaitis’s home to join in Nerf gun fights with their children. Later, he stayed with the couple for nine months before leaving the group home. “It was crushing to watch him leave when he was 13,” recalled Renee, as Roman wasn’t ready to be adopted at the time. The couple has fostered around 20 children through the foster care system and adopted six children in addition to their two biological children. The family kept in touch with Roman, and in the summer of 2022, they were informed that Roman wanted to return and stay with them. By December, they asked their children about adopting Roman into the family. Already considering Roman their brother, their children agreed, and the Balassaitis family began the adoption process for seventeen-year-old Roman in January 2023.

The decision to adopt Roman then became a race against the clock as children age out of the foster care system in Florida at 18. Youths who are adopted while still in foster care receive multiple supports, such as stipends and educational assistance, that Roman stood to lose if adopted outside of the system. It would have also complicated the adoption process for the family, negating all the hard work they had begun in January. “Today was a race to the finish line for Roman, a day before he turns 18. And, once he turns 18, there’s no adoption through the state as a minor. We’d have to go about it a whole different way,” a relieved Renee told a local news station. She added that while some teens choose to remain in the system for support, many leave the system and fall through the cracks. “Not many kids want to stay in foster care after they turn 18. Once they realize they’re not being adopted … they realize that’s not going to happen. They really want to be on their own. They don’t want more time in this system.” 

The day before his birthday, in a courthouse in Clay County, Florida, the Balassaitis family officially adopted Roman Nehemiah Balassaitis. Although Roman’s case was confirmed in Taylor County, Florida, via Zoom, the family chose to complete the adoption in the Clay County Courthouse. “We wanted to kind of set up that environment so that it felt more momentous to him than just kind of sitting in our house on Zoom in the kitchen,” said Brad.

Cutting it so close had made Roman nervous. “I was sweating badly. My heart was beating. I was very happy. It means I have someone to go to. It means if I need someone to talk to, I have people to talk to now.” Roman had lived in 19 different places in the past 4 years. With the adoption process over, he thanked God. “Thank God! I want to say, ‘Thank God, it happened!'” he announced. Renee said she hoped Roman’s story would give hope to other children in the system. “I want other kids who are aging out of the system to know that you might not be adopted in the nick of time, but there are people that will choose to love you if you can dare to trust us,” she said. There are nearly 400,000 children currently in the foster care system. Over 100,000 of them are waiting to be adopted. If you want to find out more about fostering and adoption, you can go to Adoptuskids.org.