A&E documentary features L.A. kids in foster care

LOS ANGELES - He's never met his father. He says his mother couldn't take care of him. Ty Bailey ended up in foster care, but he didn't want to end up a statistic. Kidsave gave him a fighting chance at finding a family and the stability that comes with a permanent home.

Ty's story, and that of nine other youth in foster care are being featured in a documentary series airing on the A&E channel. The documentary series is called "The Day I Picked My Parents."

With more than 400,000 American kids in foster care Hollywood it is much-needed attention on the issue. Kidsave CEO and Co-founder Randi Thompson has led the organization for 21-years. She says the organization "helps older children and teens living in U.S. residential facilities, foster homes, group homes, and orphanages overseas, find loving parents and lifelong mentors through their unique Family Visit Model."

The documentary follows these ten youth as they navigate the Kidsave program. One of the unique opportunities allows families who may not want to foster and adopt to still share their time with a child in foster care through weekend visits.

Ty was referred to the program in December of 2017, just short of his 17th birthday. He found a Kidsave host family first that spent weekends with him, and then met his permanent family, the Mora family, who have decided to finalize their adoption of Ty.

Mauricio “Mo” Mora is a District Manager at a company called Insperity.  He and his wife Jessica were merely attending a Kidsave gala as a company sponsor. Ty was the keynote speaker. They were so moved that they explored opening up their home to Ty and to become his forever family. Ty moved in with the Mora's that summer and now has two new brothers, 18-year-old Joey and 19-year-old Isaiah, the Mora's sons.

LISTEN: Olympic & Bundy: Ep. 89 - How 'Kidsave' helps older children and teens in foster care find loving homes; The case of Ty Bailey

Thompson says "Kidsave gives older foster kids families by safely introducing them to caring adults through weekend hosting visits. Seventy-five percent of kids are adopted or remain connected to an adult they met through Kidsave."

Two of the youth in the documentary, Angelicia and Joshua, were also profiled on Fox 11's Wednesday's Child segment that works to find kids in foster care forever homes. The documentary starts on September 8th at 10 a.m.

Learn more at Kidsave.org. For more information on the A&E documentary, click here.

For more on their story, see our podcast Olympic & Bundy featuring Kidsave.