Recently on the “Wake Up With Dee Morning Show,” host Dr. Dee Dawkins-Haigler spoke with Nicole Jefferson Harris Holmes, a licensed clinical social worker, community leader and CEO of New Beginnings, Elevated Social Services, Positive Change Counseling Service and Caring Hands Group Home, along with Dr. Kimberly Underdue, a licensed clinical social worker and trauma-focused psychotherapist, to recognize National Adoption Month.
Dr. Underdue recounted how a single phone call to her sorority sister changed her life. After years of being content as the “fun aunt,” Dr. Underdue told her she was ready to adopt an older child. Within minutes, Ms. Holmes sent a photo of a toothless 6-year-old boy named Nicholas.
“He’s my fairytale,” Dr. Underdue said of Nicholas, now a thriving 19-year-old college student. “Some people will say that I changed my son’s life. He changed my life.”
Ms. Holmes described going to court herself, something she rarely does, to remove Nicholas from a foster home where the parents were considering adoption but had not committed. Standing before the judge, she insisted the boy belonged elsewhere. “I said, yep, I sure do, he can go to Kimberly Underdue,” she recalled, giving the judge Dr. Underdue’s full name, address and phone number on the record.
They also emphasized that Nicholas’s story is far from unique. Many children, particularly Black teens and sibling groups, wait years for permanent homes. Statewide, one in four children awaiting adoption is between 13 and 17, and the average time in care exceeds three years.
“Three years is too long,” Ms. Holmes said. “That’s a very long time to be in limbo and as a child to have no stability.”
Both guest stressed that family preservation and reunification remain the primary goals of child welfare, but when parents cannot regain custody, adoption becomes critical.
They highlighted practical supports available to prospective families, including a 2025 federal adoption tax credit of up to $17,280 per child, state subsidies, college assistance programs, and resources from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption for Adoption and faith-based organizations.
“Every child deserves a forever home,” Dr. Underdue said.
Later in the program, Dr. Shaun Johnson, former senior director of child welfare for Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services, joined the conversation. Dr. Johnson explained the difficult balance caseworkers face when deciding whether to terminate parental rights, noting that some older youth only decide they want adoption after years in care, often when finding families becomes harder.
To listen to the full interview, click the link above,