Foster parent, Shelby Ross, has been an active foster parent and advocate of AYS for 10 years and has fostered at least 75 youth. Like most youth who walk through Ross� doors, 17-year-old Lloyd Lowery was an angry teenage boy in need of direction and support. In spite of his sour disposition, Shelby became the role model Lowery needed to mold him into the positive and ambitious man he is today.

Although Shelby remembers Lowery as a good kid, Lloyd admits he "started off rough." In spite of his behavior, for Lloyd, knowing that someone genuinely cared about his well-being was the catalyst for taking a hand in his own success. Now, five years since his stay with Shelby, Lowery has become a young man of whom any parent would be proud! He is a married father of two - he and his family are currently stationed in Wichita, Kansas - and he is half-way through his Associates program in Criminal Justice. Lowery is planning to earn a Bachelor's in Child Psychology so he can help kids cope with their problems. When asked if he would become a foster parent like Shelby, Lloyd quickly responded with a "yes!" He and his wife, who also grew up as a foster child, plan to become foster parents once he retires from the military.

If you or someone you know wants to nurture the lives of youth through the Resource Foster Family Program at AYS, please contact Training Coordinator, Aly Romero, at aromero@aysusa.org or 913-831-2820, ext. 223.

On Saturday, November 17, AYS took part in National Adoption Day in Topkeka, Kansas.  AYS foster parent, Corrine Ross, and seventeen other families officially signed their adoption papers at the Shawnee County Courthouse.  Ms. Ross, an AYS foster parent since 2003 and Bradlee B.'s foster mother for the past couple of years, finalized the adoption of Bradlee (now Bradlee Ross) on Saturday morning.  AYS Case Manager, Jadda Boarman, who attended the event, reports that she has never seen Bradlee so excited.  She exclaims, "His eyes were open wide all day!"  The event, designed to raise awareness about the need for adoption, concluded with a release of dozens of balloons, representing the many children still awaiting adoption.  AYS congratulates Corrine and Bradlee on the finalization of the adoption and wish the new family all the best.