A Place to Call Home
By Diana Royal Staff Writer

STAFF - DIANA ROYAL LaRoyal, far left, pictured with her new family, sisters Kierra and Evelynia and parents John and Valorie Collins

Eighteen-year-old LaRoyal knows what a good gift is - she got a family for Christmas.

You'd never know walking into the Collinses' Midville home that LaRoyal hasn't always been there. She holds her infant sister while talking about college and playfully bantering back and forth with 13-year-old Kierra as their parents, John and Valorie Collins, exchange smiles.

The scene is one LaRoyal wasn't sure she'd ever be a part of. But the Collinses wanted to change that. They wanted to give her stability and a home - and they made history in the process.

The Collins family opened their door to foster children nearly five years ago.

LaRoyal, who's been in foster care for the last decade, has been in four different homes.

Now, a chance placement and 16 months later, the vivacious teenager is celebrating with her parents. They were named Adoptive Parents of the Year, not only for Burke County, but for the state of Georgia as well.

The Collinses were nominated by Department of Family and Children Services social worker Linda Stewart.

"What makes the Collins family so special?" she ponders aloud. "They showed complete dedication to children by adopting an eighteen-year-old … she wanted a permanent family to call her own, and the Collinses were able to give her that special gift."

John is quick to admit they didn't really want to have a teenager at first. "But we always knew she was a good girl," he says. "Kierra really wanted a big sister, and that opened doors for LaRoyal."

On Feb. 2, LaRoyal officially became a member of the family.

"She kept asking, 'Where do I sign? Where do I sign?'" Valorie says through laughter.

"And I kept thinking, 'I've got real parents now,'" LaRoyal beams back.

Valorie says her and John's decision to adopt LaRoyal is one they'll never regret. "Everybody needs some place to call home and someone to love," she says. "She'd been in the system for so long and needed to be able to say, 'I'm going home.'"

The Collinses were surprised to find that they're one of the few families willing to adopt a teenager - and Valorie teasingly says she knows why.

"I thought I had a while before the dating," she says, snapping. "But boom! LaRoyal was talking to boys and going on dates. We had to teach her how to drive. I said, 'Oh Lord, help us!'"

"Everything seemed to happen in one week," John pipes in as he shares a story about the first young man to call and ask for permission to take LaRoyal out.

"And I was home way before curfew," LaRoyal reminds him.

Now, LaRoyal, a 2006 Burke County High School graduate who is attending school at South Georgia College in Douglas, listens as her parents share their hopes about adopting another baby girl, who bounces on John's knee in her Christmas dress, waving at everyone in the room.

LaRoyal says she may adopt a child one day, too.

"The whole experience has been rewarding," John says, giving all his thanks to God for making it possible. "I hope that more people will take a chance on teenagers and become adoptive or foster parents to them."

As the midmorning rain begins to mist outside and the temperature falls, the warmth and laughter inside the Collins' home only grows.

LaRoyal picks at Kierra for raiding her closet when she was away at school. Kierra retorts with a funny story about how LaRoyal thought there was a burglar trying to get into their house.

"And she was armed with cold curlers and a broom!" Kierra screeches.

Mostly, LaRoyal talks about how different her life has been since she came to be with the Collinses.

She has her own room, a queen-size bed and parents who will sit down and talk to her and who make her feel like she belongs.

"It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't been in my situation, who hasn't been in a foster home," LaRoyal says, trying to put into words how she never felt like part of the family in other foster homes. "Something just wasn't right. Now, I'm with my mama and my dad and sisters. I've never gotten this kind of love … they've given me the opportunity to grow as a person … I love being here, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."