A foster teen couldn’t hide her delight when she was surprised with a cell phone added to her family’s plan to symbolize her becoming part of the family.
Social worker Latrece Madison, 34, from Chicago, Illinois, met Jewel when she was working in a local school in September 2022.
A few months later, Jewel, then 16, and her nine sisters were placed into foster care, with Jewel staying with two of her younger sisters, who were aged two and 15 at the time.
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When that placement didn’t work out, Latrece did everything she could to help the three kids, calling her assistant principal and coworkers to try to support them.
Having spoken to her husband, Latrece decided they would care for the three sisters until they could find a permanent home.
Over time, however, 21 initial days turned into five months, and five months turned into a year.
The three girls formed a close bond with Latrece and her husband, with Jewel expressing that she wanted to be added to her family phone plan so Latrice’s family would always be her home.
And so, before Christmas 2024, Latrece knew exactly what to get her foster daughter.
As soon as Jewel opened the phone, she could not contain her excitement, knowing what the device symbolized.
January 18, 2025, marks two years since Jewel moved in with Latrice’s family, and with Jewel now being 18, a legal adult, and set to head off to college, the phone contract marked that Latrice’s family will always be her home.
Latrece said: “Jewel had asked us if she could be added onto the phone plan when at the time it wasn’t certain where her permanent placement would be.
Jewel is now 18 and technically considered an independent youth in care; however, we told the courts that although she would be going off to college, we would still be her family and her home.
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“This Christmas, when thinking about a gift, I knew exactly what I could give her.
“Seeing her reaction let me know that she understood exactly what the phone symbolized.
“Seeing her reaction made my heart smile – we just love her so much.
“Many people are afraid to adopt teens or offer their homes to teenage foster children, but I say it’s worth the risk and that they deserve a home and love.
“Teens in care are not there because of what they did; they are there because of an adult that failed them.”
