11-year-old Arkansas boy finds forever home after stops in 25 foster homes

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ( KARK ) – There are 4,000 children in the Arkansas foster care system. After spending time in 25 foster homes, Luke Kissinger is no longer one of them.

“Just to have a forever family is just unbelievable,” he said.

Luke entered foster care at the age of six. During this time, he was in and out of 24 homes before entering No. 25, which then became his forever home.

“We opened in 2022, and we spent about a year just waiting to be matched without truly looking into trying to find a kid, and then when we saw his video in March 2023, we just kind of instantly fell in love,” Cassie Kissinger said.

Luke spent four years on a journey to find a family who truly would take him in and love him.

“He’s been passed on so many times, and if you meet him, you would never think anything like that ever happened to him; I mean, he doesn’t have an angry bone in his body,” Bradley Kissinger said.

Despite the heartbreak of not finding a permanent home with each foster family, Luke’s spirit remained unbroken, radiating joy wherever he went.

Then May 14, 2024, came — Luke’s adoption day.

“I think the best part of the whole thing was the judge said, ‘Do you have anything else you want to say?’ And he was just, ‘I love you, Mom and Dad,'” Bradley Kissinger said.

Luke is excited about starting school and finally staying there long enough to play sports.

“It will have to be his jersey number from now on, a lucky No. 25,” Cassie Kissinger said.

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