DALLAS — WFAA brought you the story of Ernest two years ago. He's now 13, and he and his caseworker believe there's a forever family who wants to adopt him.
Here's our report below from when WFAA featured Ernest in 2020:
Never underestimate the power of positive thinking. It's the kind of wisdom we typically learn from our elders, not from an 11-year-old boy in foster care.
"I'm an awesome kid!"
Ernest is like the little engine that could. Even though he kept falling off the bars at the park, he kept getting right back up.
"I got up and did it again. Tried again, and tried again, and tried again," he said.
Ernest has grown to have a positive attitude. He doesn't have a family. The closest person to a parent is his case manager.
"This is my first time being on TV and this feels so special, because there's a family out there that I just really want to go to," said Ernest.
"I feel sad," he said about being in foster care for the past two years.
He wants a family who will be okay with him still seeing his biological mom and siblings.
"I want a nice family. A family that looks like me," he said, adding that he wants to learn how to speak Spanish.
There's really no other reason for him wanting to be adopted, other than the obvious.
"Why should they adopt me is because I mean, I need a family,” he said.
Ernest wants parents who will help him in school. He's good at math, but he struggles with reading.
"That's the only thing I have trouble with," he said.
A local non-profit, "Armwood Enterprises," surprised Ernest with a bag of goodies. They also wrote him a letter of encouragement.
It was hard for Ernest to read the letter, but with help, he did it.
Ernest needs a lot of love to overcome the trauma, pain and the effects of not being nurtured and cared for.
"With the letter, it means so much and I thank y'all, because the gift was so awesome," he said.
Ernest will overcome all odds because he knows he can.
"Every time when I try doing something and it's not working, I just keep on trying and trying and trying, until I finally get it," he said proudly.
He never did make it across the bars at the park, but that's okay. Ernest just wants a forever family.
For more information on how to adopt a child in Texas, please send all approved home studies to LaQueena Warren at LaQueena.Warren@dfps.texas.gov. Please remember to include the child's name within the subject line.
If you're not licensed, please visit adoptchildren.org to find out more information on how to become licensed to foster and/or adopt or contact LaQueena Warren at 817-304-1272.