Devin

July 27, 2010
Donald and Devin were reunited with their biological father after 15 years of no contact through their Facebook pages. After several weeks of phone calls with the twins, Donald, Sr. and his wife came for a visit to Huntington Beach. The guys spent a week at a local hotel with their father. At the end of their visit their father ask Donald and Devin to join him and his new family in Tennessee. After some thought, Donald and Devin decided to live with their father. Reuniting with their parents was something that the guys had always wanted. While we are sad to see the guys leave our family, we are happy that the reunification went well and the guys now have their greatest wish come true. We wish them luck in their new life.

July 2010

Devin joined our family at the end of June. He is the twin brother of Donald. Both young men spent almost their whole childhood in the Washington foster care system. Most of the time they were placed separately. Devin suffered physical abuse and general neglect from his birth family and from caregivers in the foster care system. As a result he has many issues with controlling his anger and managing his frustration. Devin also appears to have a serious case of reactive attachment disorder (RAD). We are working with Devin on how to live in a family and how to get along with family members. Despite being twins, Devin and Donny have a very difficult time getting along with each other. As far as I am concerned, this is the saddest effect of these guys having multiple placements apart from each other. They not only don't know how to be brothers, but, in fact, it is as if they are from the Hatfields and McCoys!

Besides mild developmental delays, Devin also has a brain injury which makes his struggles a lot more intense than Donny's. We are working to get Devin hooked up with the resources available in our area that will be able to support him in his transition to adulthood. We are hoping with adequate support and a stable family Devin will make the changes necessary to have a safe and happy life.