Meet the Emrick-Kono Family!

“We trust that they will become the adults they are meant to be.”

Due to their careers, Dr. Bryan Kono, a pediatrician, and Tara Emrick, a social worker, had long been aware of the need for adoptive families for US children. They both felt confident that their professions had prepared them for foster care adoption.

A family tragedy, the sudden death of Tara’s younger brother, helped them come to terms with “how short life truly is,” and propelled them to act upon their plans to adopt. Two years later, 2 daughters joined the family. Selecia was 3 years old and Adalea just 9 months old at that time. Now ages 7 and 4, they are delightful, fun-loving daughters. The Emrick-Konos are an active family who take full advantage of their proximity to Colorado’s mountains. They ski together in the winter months and hike in the remaining seasons. Bryan and Tara also find themselves figuratively scaling mountains as each season of child development brings new challenges to surmount.

Tara explains, “We know the ‘primal wounding’ of not being with their birth family, in addition to the in-utero trauma they both experienced through drug and alcohol exposure, will forever be a part of our daughters’ foundations. As well, our oldest has significant behavior issues stemming from abuse in her first 2 years of life. We continue to address these through therapy and acupuncture.”

The Emrick-Konos identify Medicaid as their most helpful post adoption resource. It has allowed them to obtain speech therapy and counseling without having to figure out how they could afford it. They also found summer “Heritage Camps” helpful in providing an opportunity to mingle with and learn from “other families like ours who have the same questions, the same challenges, and the same gratitude for their children.”

Bryan and Tara incorporate their professional and personal experience to educate others about adoption. “Children adopted through foster care have almost always experienced significant trauma. Trauma affects them deeply and is something that needs to be addressed early on. These children often suffer from PTSD. Providing a stable and loving home environment is very important, but it is not enough to help a child work through the horrible impact of abuse and neglect.”  

Oldest daughter Selecia indicates the mix of joy and sadness inherent in adoption. “I am sad because I miss my birth mom.  I am happy because I am lucky to have my mom and dad.”

The Emrick-Konos ask members of Congress to understand that adoptive families need resources, including knowledgeable therapists and alternative healers. They call for more pre-adoption training for families, and guarantees of financial support afterwards so these families can best provide for their children’s needs. Tara reflects upon their family she and Bryan have built. “Our girls are full of energy and light. We trust that they will find ways to integrate all of their pain and suffering to become the adults they are meant to be. We will continue to do all that we can to support them and love them unconditionally along the way. We know that we are meant to be together and are forever grateful that we found each other.”