Dallas couple Adrian and Shane Potter began fostering children in 2020. They provided temporary homes for several children, but their dream was to become permanent dads through the foster-to-adopt program.

“We put our name in the hat so many times and were never considered,” Adrian Potter recently told the Dallas Voice. They spoke with their caseworker and agreed the fact that they were a gay couple was likely to blame.

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But everything changed when the couple heard from a caseworker at the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, who told the Potters she actively seeks out gay couples with whom to place children because they tend to create happier homes.

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That is how Isaiah, Jordan, and Sophia came to live with the Potters. The sibling trio had been in the foster system for three years, and after living with Adrian and Shane for only six months, they were officially adopted in 2021.

The Dave Thomas Foundation (created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted) has facilitated more than 500 adoptions. One program, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, focuses on placing children who have been in foster care longest. Children involved in the program are three times more likely to be adopted, according to the Dallas Voice. That is, of course, how the Potters and their children found each other.

Isaiah, Jordan, and Sophia had been removed from their home due to abuse, neglect, and drugs. While they have experienced subsequent challenges, the Potter family says they are a very happy one in which the kids are thriving.

Rita Soronen, president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, told the Voice that adopting through foster care is far less expensive than private adoptions, which can cost up to $40,000. And with more than 10,000 children in Texas alone waiting for families, it can be a wonderful way to create one.

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