Wisconsin Foster Mom with Two Biological Children Adopts Six Boys

Six young boys in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were adopted Friday by their foster mom, who already has two biological children.

Jessica Benzakein was a foster child herself, which is why she wanted to help children in the same situation, according to WISN 12.

In Milwaukee County Children’s Court on Friday, she legally adopted six boys whose ages range from 4 to 17.

However, Jessica’s own children already thought of the boys as part of the Benzakein family.

“Like the whole adoption thing, doesn’t really matter because we consider each other as a family no matter what,” said 14-year-old former foster child Carter Brunner.

In 2015, the family moved from rural Wisconsin to Milwaukee so they could give children without a home a place to feel loved.

“We would like to just be an example of that for many kids like me, who float around or get moved around or bounced around,” Jessica said at the time.

There are currently 6,918 foster children in Wisconsin — 1,380 of whom are on the waiting list to find adoptive families, according to AdoptUSKids.org.

The website continues:

The children in care are from all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. The children’s average ages are frequently school-aged, 5 to14 years old. While there is a need for foster and adoptive families for children of all ages, an area of unmet need continues to be finding families for older youth and sibling groups.

However, thanks to Jessica’s kind heart and open arms, six of those children are no longer waiting to find their forever family.

“Good things don’t always happen in court, so when they do, they absolutely must be acknowledged,” Judge Mark Sanders said once the adoption was official.

Jessica noted that the number of kids who need a home is always changing and added that she hopes Friday’s event will send a message to anyone considering adoption.

“It’s always going up. It never goes down, so there’s still plenty of other kids out there who need homes,” she concluded.