The Castillo Family

We are Rudy and Michele Castillo. We do not have biological children and we have lovingly adopted four children from the foster care system. It has been an absolute positive experience for us. We adopted John, now 20 years old, from Santa Clara County, CA, who is in the army stationed in Germany. We also adopted three children from Denver County, CO. Luciano, 21, is in his third year of college for Criminal Justice. Mary, 18, is a bank teller and part-time student, and Ava, 3 years old, is in preschool. However, we have a total of 12 children.

We have been foster parents for 19 years now. We consider all of our foster children as part of our family. Many come back to visit and share in our family traditions and holidays. It has been a wonderful experience to help children that are in need, and to provide them a loving family setting. Both of our families have been very supportive. We make it very special when a new child comes into our home by making them their favorite dinner, eating off a special plate that says “You are special”, using gold silverware that belonged to Michele’s grandparents from their 50th golden wedding anniversary, and also a “Welcome to the family” banner. Each birthday is handled in the same way.

We go on vacations to California a lot to visit family, friends and to visit Disneyland. Some of our children had never seen the beach before and to see their faces - it was a dream come true for them. We are very much involved in all of our children’s education and sports, and we support them as much as possible. We truly are blessed to have had our children come into our lives. We are so proud of each one of them and appreciate their love and commitment to us as parents and to each other.

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If you have a foster or adoption story to share, please email it to family@adoptuskids.org. We will review your story and contact you if we have questions and would like to share your story on the website. Please include your first and last name, phone number and best time to reach you.

AdoptUsKids is dedicated to increasing the public awareness of foster care and adoption. As a “real” adoptive or foster family, you are an important part of our national media outreach. If you are asked to participate in an interview, please don't be intimidated; sharing your story can make such a difference! We have developed the Media Guide for Families (PDF 1.6 MB/21 pages) to assist you. It provides tips and facts about AdoptUsKids. Thanks for your willingness to help!