Caroline and Hank Gallo love kids. They are the parents of four biological children between the ages of 16 and 35 and have, so far, fostered a total of 23 kids over a period of six years.
These children stay with the Gallos until a judge decides if it is safe for them to go back to their biological mom and dad.
"One of the children will go home in the morning, and we will have one by the end of the day," Caroline told ABC15.
In Arizona, roughly 500 children are placed in foster care every month.
Fostering isn't something the Gallos set out to do. It sort of just happened.
"A friend of mine was gonna have a baby and she was in a bad way so we were going to take the baby in and then she ended up with DCS. They placed her with her biological brother who is adopted so they took her in and they adopted her. Then I had a meeting with DCS and they asked me if I would ever like to foster and it went from there."
The Gallos mostly foster babies. Some of them stay for a few weeks and some stay for a lifetime, like Zavion who was adopted in 2019.
"When we brought him home, I remember he was like looked little. I mean he wasn't supposed to be born because he was born at 34 weeks," Caroline said.
Zavion will be 5 years old next week.
"Then, of course, when mom had another one, we're like, yeah, we'll just take him too."
Given little chance of survival and born at just 24 weeks, the Gallos also adopted Zavion's biological brother, Marcus.
He's 2 years old now — and thriving!
The boys are growing up together because this loving family wouldn't have it any other way.
"I would keep them all. It's a bad thing. I mean, it's a good thing, but it's a bad thing I can't keep them all," Caroline said, laughing. "I would need a bigger house!"
The Gallo family is a prime example of why ABC15 has teamed up with Arizona's Children Association.
To help ease the transition into foster care, we are collecting donations for "just for me" bags. They go with these kids as they enter foster care.
If you'd like to help, you can donate new personal care items like diapers and wipes, as well as comfort items like books or stuffed animals.
All donations can be dropped off at:
- American Furniture Warehouse – 4700 South Power Road, Gilbert
- American Furniture Warehouse – 5801 North 99th Avenue, Glendale
- American Furniture Warehouse – 1646 W. Montebello Avenue, Phoenix
You can also donate online at ABC15.com/kids.
