A 19-year-old softball player gave up a full university sports scholarship and worked two jobs while even sleeping in a legal office, all to gain custody of her four younger siblings after years of family instability. Baylee Laine, now 28, eventually legally adopted all four children when she was 21. Her story recently went viral again after she shared a TikTok video showing the family’s journey from foster care to their life together today, as detailed in an exclusive interview with People magazine. Laine’s journey towards permanent custody began during her childhood, which was marked by her parents’ separation and repeated involvement from Child Protective Services (CPS).
Timeline of the sibling adoption journey
- Age 8: CPS becomes involved and custody moves to her father.
- High school senior: Her mother gives birth to twins, and Laine considers leaving on a
softball scholarship . - Decision: Laine turns down the sports scholarship to stay with her siblings.
- October 2017, age 19: CPS places all four siblings in Laine’s care through a foster arrangement.
- Age 21: The adoptions are finalised after a two-year court fight to end parental rights.
- Present, age 28: Laine raises her four adopted siblings alongside her biological daughter.
Early family instability leads to a major decision
Laine told People that her parents separated when she was five and divorced soon afterwards.“By the time I was 8, CPS got involved,” Laine told the publication, explaining that her father then took custody of her and her brother.Her mother later had four more children with two other men. Laine often helped care for the younger children during weekend visits, but the home became increasingly unstable.“If I wanted to spend time at my mom’s apartment, my dad would let me, but it was mostly because she was having a baby, so I would go and help her with the baby,” she explained to People, adding that her mother would “have these men in and out of the house.”“I would be like, ‘I’m out of here.’ I’d go back home with my dad, and it would only be for weekends at a time, and then a new man came along,” she recalled.When her mother became pregnant with twins, Laine began struggling with the demands of school sports and helping at home.“I was like, ‘I can’t keep spending my summers taking care of your kids. I can’t keep doing this.’ I was a softball player and had a full ride to play softball,” she said. “Then I started panicking. ‘What am I going to do with my life if my life basically revolves around helping my mom?’ She had twins, and then I took a step back.”During her senior year, Laine planned to accept her sports scholarship and leave the situation behind.“My senior year of high school, I thought, ‘I’m not doing this. I’m going to go play softball. I’m going to move out of state and I’m going to get away from all of this.’ ”But as her departure got closer, she kept thinking about what would happen to her younger siblings.“These kids are going to be all alone,” she remembers thinking. “Then, I decided I’m going to stay, and if I stay, I’m taking them.”
Two-year fight for foster care and custody
Laine gave up her plans to move out of state and enrolled at a local community college.She hired a paralegal to help her deal with the child welfare and family court systems. At the same time, she worked long hours to pay legal costs and support the household.“I was working two jobs. I used all my money, and then all of my teenage friends would donate money to me, and we ended up doing a GoFundMe. Most of it was word of mouth; friends of family and people donated to me,” she told People. “We got close to $10,000, and I fought for two years with a paralegal to basically become a foster parent at 18 and get that approved.”The case required Laine to seek the termination of parental rights involving three biological parents. She had to prove that, despite being very young, she could provide a safe and stable home.During the legal battle, she sometimes slept on the floor of her paralegal’s office while collecting documents and preparing for court.On 25 October 2017, child protection officials officially placed the four children in Laine’s home. She was 19.“Once we did that, I had to fight all three parents to get their rights taken from them, and for the state to see that clearly I can do this,” Laine explained to People.
Raising four children changes her own plans
Taking full responsibility for four younger children changed Laine’s life almost immediately.At the time, the children included her brother, now 17, a sister, now 14, and twin toddlers, now 12.“The minute they dropped them off to us in October, you’re full-time mom mode. There were no breaks,” Laine said. “I wasn’t leaving anybody’s side. The difference from fostering to adoption wasn’t that big of a difference in our day-to-day life, but it was like I could finally breathe. I struggle with this. I feel like I have to do everything perfectly to prove myself.”Balancing community college with childcare eventually became too difficult. The twins were too young to qualify for state-funded preschool, making it harder for Laine to continue her education and play softball.“School also became too much because the twins were too little for the state-funded preschools, so I ended up quitting school,” she recalled. “I did play softball at the school for a little while. Once I hired a paralegal, I stopped playing softball at the college. Then, I ended up dropping out.”Laine relied on her partner at the time, along with state support linked to the foster placements, to meet the family’s needs.The emotional pressure was also intense.“There were no emotions, no feelings. I became robotic. I had a job to do,” she explained. “I’m religious, so it was like, ‘God has put me here to do this. So if this is my one thing, then this is what I’m going to do.’ ”She said helping the children recover from years of instability was difficult.“I was dealing with kids with a very traumatic past. It wasn’t this peaceful,” she told People. “They were in my bed with me. They were never leaving my side. We had to take showers together because we could not be separated. It took a while for them to adjust to the fact that we have a comfortable home life now, but it was hard at first.”
Adoption brings permanent family security
Two years after the children were placed with Laine, when she was 21, a court finalised the adoptions.The decision ended state welfare supervision and court-ordered visitation arrangements involving the children.“After the adoption, our life got a little bit smoother because there’s not so much of a schedule that we have to go through in the state. With the court dates and the visitation and catering to all the rules, we didn’t have to do that anymore,” Laine told People, adding that their biological mother has been incarcerated since 2023. “The fact that we were solidified and we were our own unit and we could walk away from it was the biggest difference.”The family felt an even greater sense of security during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. Being together at home helped the children understand that no legal or parental dispute would suddenly separate them.“Once COVID hit and we were all stuck at home, that was the most calm we all probably felt, because it was always a scary situation,” she said. “Is someone going to come and take us?”“That has to do with being in the foster care system. Kids are always worried this isn’t forever. CPS is going to come pick me up or my parents are going to come pick me up, and they’re going to run away with me,” she continued. “Once COVID hit and we were all confined to our house and doing our nightly walks, that is where we felt true peace.”Today, Laine is raising her four adopted siblings alongside her three-year-old biological daughter.After she shared the family’s story online, the post received six million views and hundreds of messages from relatives, aunts and grandparents dealing with similar child welfare situations.“I encourage them, ‘Stay strong, girl. You can do it.’ If I can do it, anybody can do it. But it’s a lot,” Laine said. “I’ve said that to quite a few people, but just the fact that you’ve had this thought or this feeling, it says more than just the fact that your family life is in some sort of chaos and you feel like you should do something. Having that thought alone, you’re already steps ahead.”
