Caseworker Adopts 19-Year-Old Teen

A Florida teen who always wished for a mom now has one in her former caseworker. Monyay spent years in state care and group homes and that’s where she met her caseworker Leah Paskalides.

They got to know each other over the last five years and formed a special bond, but it didn’t start off that way. Monyay admits she didn’t like Paskalides at first, but by the time she was a senior in high school and was doing everything for herself, she wished she had a mom to help her out. She would often tell her caseworker that she wanted her to adopt her, but Paskalides couldn’t because of her job.

Then she saw a documentary about someone being adopted as an adult and realized that was a possibility for Monyay. So they filled out the paperwork, met with a judge and now, at 19, Monyay has been adopted and finally has a family to call her own. “We’re both so happy,” Paskalides says. “We both wanted this for so long.”

Source: ABC Action News


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