Charles and Lauren Fleenor, of Pike County, are veteran foster/adoptive parents within the DCBS agency. They have been with the agency since 2019 and together, they have fostered numerous children and have adopted 4 children. They say this about their fostering experience, “There are truly not enough words to describe what foster care means to our family. The decision to become foster parents did not come easy, but it ended up being one of the best decisions we ever made. Since opening our home in 2019, we have welcomed nearly 30 children through short and long-term placement, as well as respite care. We were blessed to adopt our first children in 2021 and have adopted three more children since. We are working towards our fifth adoption through the foster care system. If you had told us five years ago that this is what we’d be doing today, we probably would have laughed. We never thought we could handle the heartbreak that comes with foster care, but it turned out to be one of our greatest joys. We have loved meeting and working with biological families and feel privileged to have been even a small part of these kids’ stories. Foster care has truly changed our lives in every way imaginable, and we are so thankful. We can’t wait to see where this journey takes us next!”
The agency has always been able to depend on Charles and Lauren to provide love and care for children that have challenging needs. They are often called to help house high acuity youth for short periods of time. They have never been afraid to take children with medical complexities, behavioral challenges and other barriers and have gone above and beyond to advocate for the medical and developmental needs of all the children that have come into their home. They have provided consistency, stability, love and support to every child who has come across their threshold.
Not only have Charles and Lauren been advocates for children, but they have also been advocates for birth parents throughout the years. They have provided support, guidance and encouragement to the biological parents even when cases were going towards TPR and adoption. They maintain a close relationship with two of their adopted children’s biological mother even now.
Charles and Lauren demonstrate flexibility in being foster/adoptive parents. They have always accommodated parent/child visits and phone calls no matter when asked as well as worker visits. Their door has always been open. They have encouraged and invited birth parents to medical appointments and special events such as birthday parties in the lives of the children.
Charles and Lauren work in great partnership with the Cabinet as well. They demonstrate self-sufficiency and initiative in knowing their roles and responsibilities as foster parents including but not limited to attending necessary trainings to enhance their knowledge, having exemplary paperwork and by serving as mentors for new foster parents and by being available for other foster parents as needed. Lauren has been part of several statewide work groups as a foster parent representative. She also co-coordinates a local foster closet, Thursday’s Child, in Pike County that is available to the entire Eastern Mountain Region.
Overall, Charles and Lauren are outstanding examples of what foster/adoptive families should be. They have devoted their lives to providing love and care to the children in Kentucky’s foster care system and have provided a loving forever home to some along the way. Charles and Lauren are amazing candidates for the Adoptive Parent of the Year award. Words could never express how truly wonderful and selfless they have been throughout the years and continue to be in their fostering journey.
Caleb Yeske and Luis Ramirez have opened both their hearts and their home to children in need of love, stability, and care. Since beginning their fostering journey in 2023, they have provided a safe and nurturing environment for ten children—two of whom they have joyfully adopted. Currently, they are fostering three children, with one case moving toward adoption.
Their home is full of compassion, commitment, and unwavering support. Caleb and Luis consistently go above and beyond to advocate for the well-being of every child in their care. They have collaborated closely with support organizations and demonstrate their deep dedication to the long-term futures of the children they foster and have adopted.
As foster/adoptive parents, Caleb and Luis are examples of resilience, advocacy, and unconditional love. Their tireless efforts, patience, and positive spirit reflect the very heart of what it means to be a foster/adoptive family.
Elizabeth and Bobby Fultz are dedicated foster and adoptive parents and go above and beyond to work with birth families, community partners, DCBS, and the courts. The family previously adopted a sibling group of three before there was a fictive kin program, and those girls have thrived in their home, and they completed private adoptions.
The family has been an open home since October 16th, 2020, and they have become an Advanced Medically Complex home and an Advanced Care Plus foster home. Elizabeth Fultz is also a foster parent trainer with DCBS. Since the family has been open they have had several placements, four of which they have since adopted. The family adopted a set of care plus twin boys, and became best friends with the other foster families that have their siblings, and they continue that sibling bond post adoption and find it to be invaluable to them! Offering updates to birth father when he reaches out as well.
They then took placement of another set of twin boys, this time one borderline medically complex and the other severely medically complex. These boys have thrived in the home as well, and they continue contact with a maternal grandmother post adoption, as the Fultz family values birth family connections whenever safely possible. They currently have adult children that have gone off to college, started their own families, and Elizabeth and Bobby recently became grandparents!
Elizabeth and Bobby are foster parent mentors and have helped many new foster parents learn along the way, be a support, and provide guidance. They have also created a local foster parent page, that is only for foster parents to have support for each other, sharing clothing, car seats, furniture, etc. Elizabeth is working on finishing her BSW and Bobby is a pastor at their church. They do community outreach in the community and with their church.
They have such wonderful hearts and love to help our children and families in need. They never look down on anyone, and work in partnership with birth families with medical appointments, sending updates with photos and videos of their kiddo, emailing, and being a positive support and encouraging birth parents through their case! It is truly beautiful, and they are an example of how we hope all our foster and adoptive parents can be, to work together, as we all have the same goal, to protect and serve our most vulnerable children and families across the Bluegrass. Thank you to Elizabeth and Bobby Fultz for everything you have done, and I feel so lucky to be their R&C worker.
Foster parents Jessica and Warren Wolford discovered their passion for fostering abused and neglected children through Jessica’s brother and his wife, who were foster parents with DCBS. Inspired by this experience, the Wolfords embarked on their own journey to become foster parents and were approved as a DCBS foster and adoptive home in May 2014. Over the past 11 years, they have opened their hearts and home to approximately 38 children in foster care, successfully adopting two of them, and are currently in the process of adopting a third.
The Wolfords place a paramount emphasis on meeting the diverse needs of every child in their care. They strive to cultivate an environment where each child feels genuinely safe, cherished, and empowered. Their definition of success as foster parents is reflected in the children's ability to acclimate to their home and thrive in their educational and therapeutic pursuits.
With unwavering commitment, the Wolfords embody the core values and mission of CHFS, standing as indispensable advocates for the most vulnerable children in need. They wholeheartedly support the mission of fostering reunification, offering a steadfast network not only for the children who successfully transition back to their families but also for the parents as they navigate this critical journey. Their dedication and compassion illuminate the profound impact they have on the lives of the children they serve.
In a world where love is often measured by convenience, this extraordinary adoptive parent redefines it through courage, compassion, and commitment. As a single parent, she has opened her heart and home to numerous children. She has adopted four of them, each with unique challenges and incredible potential. And while many would consider that more than enough, she continues to foster—proving that her capacity to care has no limits.
Her home is not just a safe space; it’s a place of healing, structure, and second chances. Her children have come to her with complex needs—ranging from ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder to Global Developmental Delay and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Yet, she meets each diagnosis not with fear, but with understanding and fierce advocacy. She learns, she adapts, and she fights for the services and supports each child needs to thrive.
Days in her home are structured but flexible—balancing therapy appointments, IEP meetings, and homework with laughter, sensory play, and nightly routines that remind every child they belong. Her patience is not passive; it’s active and intentional. She celebrates every milestone, no matter how small—because she knows that what others might overlook often represents a mountain climbed.
Her parenting style is a masterclass in trauma-informed care. She listens more than she lectures, connects before she corrects, and never stops believing that every child is capable of growth. When one child struggles with emotional regulation, she guides with calm consistency. When another battles through developmental challenges, she creates hands-on learning moments that make progress possible. Her home echoes with resilience.
But beyond her day-to-day dedication, her influence radiates outward. She mentors new foster parents, reminding them that perfection is not the goal—presence is. She collaborates with caseworkers, therapists, and teachers as a true team player, advocating for systems that recognize the humanity of every child. She doesn’t just parent children—she transforms lives and inspires communities.
Despite the exhaustion that surely comes with her journey, she greets each day with humor and hope. Her children know they are loved—deeply, unconditionally, and forever. And those who meet her quickly realize that her strength doesn’t come from being superhuman; it comes from being fully human, and choosing love again and again, even when it’s hard.
Her home tells a story not of perfection, but of perseverance and possibility. Four adopted children—and countless others who’ve found safety in her care—are living proof that one person’s love can change the trajectory of many lives.
For her unwavering dedication, her boundless heart, and her belief that every child deserves a family that never gives up, she embodies the very spirit of what it means to be Adoptive Parent of the Year.
To adopt Maddie, a child once considered “too complex,” “too fragile,” or “too difficult to place” is to step into the sacred work of love without conditions. Joylyn didn’t just say yes to a child with severe medical needs; she said yes to a life of advocacy, tenderness, and unwavering devotion. Joylyn became Maddie’s safe place, her champion, her miracle.
Every day, Ms. Weaver rises with courage to meet the demands of Maddie’s care managing treatments, decoding medical jargon, and navigating systems that often overlook children like her. But beyond the appointments and procedures, Joylyn offers something far more powerful presence. She holds Maddie through the hard days, celebrate her smallest victories as sacred milestones, and speak life into her story with every touch, every prayer, every whispered “you are so loved.”
This parent’s love is not performative, it is persistent. It is the kind of love that stays up through the night, that learns every degree of Maddie’s conditions. Joylyn weeps in private but smiles in front of Maddie to give her strength. It is the kind of love that rewrites a child’s story not with pity, but with purpose.
Joylyn is not just a parent, she’s Maddie’s healer, her warrior, her sanctuary.
Their journey is a living testimony to what adoption truly means: choosing love over ease, choosing a child not for what she can give, but for who she is. In a world that often turns away from complexity, this parent stepped forward and said, “I see you, Maddie. I choose you. I will fight for you.”
That is why Joylyn Weaver deserves to be Adoptive Parent of the Year. Because she didn’t just adopt a child, she adopted a calling. And through her love, Maddie now knows what it means to be safe, to be cherished, and to be home.
Amber and Bradley Nevels were initially approved with the Cabinet as foster parents in June 2021. The couple wanted to provide children a loving and safe home, with the hopes to eventually expand their family.
The family has been extremely successful in their goals as foster parents and now adopted parents. In 2025, the family has adopted five (5) children of two (2) separate sibling groups. The most recent adoption included a sibling group of three (3) children the couple had placement for approximately two (2) years. Amber and Bradley have been very dedicated to the children in their home and ensure that all of their needs are met.
They have never requested the children to move placements even though the children exhibit behaviors that included physical aggression. The couple was able to provide patience and specialized care to the children with a traumatic background. They are dedicated to their well-being and give the children unconditional love.
Amber and Bradley collaborate with therapist, school system, and DCBS amongst other community partners to ensure that the children placed in their home are given the best services to promote their mental and medical health. Amber and Bradley will advocate for the children for successful services to prevent placement disruptions and further trauma. Despite ongoing challenges, the Nevels have established a safe, secure, and nurturing home where the children continue to thrive.
The family is so intertwined, a stranger would never know that the children were adopted. Amber and Bradley keep the children very busy with outings. Some of these activities include camping or going on vacations. Visiting the home has always been a treat. The children have been observed playing, running, and interacting well with each other. Their story is a beacon of hope and a powerful reminder that family is not defined by biology, but by the love and dedication we give to one another. This couples willingness to change their lives for these children and their ongoing commitment to a larger family unit makes them an inspirational and deserving choice for the Adoptive Family of the Year.
The Mathis family was approved as foster parents in November 2021, with intentions of caring for one or two children until reunification or adoption if needed. From the very start of their journey with foster care, the family committed to working with birth families and maintaining that connection while caring for children in their home. In 2022, the family accepted two unrelated newborns into their home.
Every year since then, one of those children has had a sibling born unexpectedly. Not wanting the children to go through the lifelong trauma of sibling separation, the Mathis accepted placement of all of those children so they could be together. As of the summer of 2025, the Mathis family has adopted five children, four of them being biological siblings. At no time has the family wanted to close their foster home in case another sibling was born, which did occur in late 2025.
The family started in a small, three-bedroom home but when it was apparent their family would keep growing, they made the selfless decision to move to a larger, more spacious home to accommodate the children.
They have also maintained a strong, ongoing relationship with the biological mother of their adopted child with no other biological siblings in the home. Nicole has developed a mentor type of relationship with her, guiding her with everyday living. The mother has no other supports in the area and is currently pregnant with twins. She has asked for Nicole to accompany her to prenatal appointments. Nicole has willingly attended those appointments to support her pregnancy journey. The Mathis family is hopeful she can successfully parent the twins. For these reasons, we feel the Mathis family is an excellent candidate for Adoptive Family of the Year.
The Duvall’s are an approved DCBS foster/to adopt home since April 15, 2015. The Duvall’s have been approved foster to adopt since April 15, 2015. The Duvall’s have adopted four of the twelve children that have come into their home. The Duvall’s have two biological daughters who are married, and one has two daughters of her own.
The Duvall’s worked in great partnership with DCBS, Warren County Courts, CASA, and other community partners. The Duvall’s maintained a great relationship with each child's biological parents and family members. Even when one of the kids was returned to her mother’s custody. The Duvall’s made sure they purchased beds, food, and provided support to the biological parents.
The Duvall’s participated in IPR meetings, court hearings, and school functions. Kathleen and Kenny have been strong advocates for each child who has been placed in their home. Even when they didn’t always agree with how the cases were progressing or lack of, they were always supportive and positive for each of the kids. Kathleen and Kenny's number one goal has been to ensure the safety and well-being of each child who has been placed in their home.
In closing, the Duvall’s have also adopted a sibling connection, and they have adopted a sibling group as well as allowed after-adoption sibling contact. In closing, the Duvall’s have set the bar high for their commitment and dedication to their children. Each adoptive child’s story and the fostering process has impacted one of the Duvall’s biological daughters to become a social worker based on her adoptive sibling’s cases. That’s the impact that her parents have had regarding the foster to adopt journey.
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