Baby boomers tout virtues of adopting at older age

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Everyday 10,000 Americans among the baby boom generation are reaching the traditional age of retirement, 65.

Some older couples are taking this time to add to their families and adopt.

Ann and Nelson Woodfork have three adult children, and recently decided to adopt a son.  They adopted 17-year-old Shicoren Adams, who was months away from being aged out of the foster care system.

“If I didn’t become adopted I would’ve been on the street as an 18-year-old,” Shicoren told NBC Nightly News.  “I would’ve been considered as an adult.  I would have no where to go.”

Thinking about waking up to a mom and a dad in a home, Shicoren said, “It’s amazing.”

In the most recent government study, 104,236 children under 18 are waiting to be adopted in the United States, and recent retirees are helping to lower that number.

“In some ways it’s kept me young,” Nelson Woodfork said.  “It’s kept me on my toes. I have to think about things that I wasn’t thinking about.”

Shicoren is preparing for his high school prom and graduation, events he never imagined would be family occasions.

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.