It’s been a long, difficult, and costly journey for the Kovacs family, but due to recent news they can finally say that they are officially the family they’ve always felt they were.

About eight months ago, Faith Kovacs, 56, and her husband Steve, 64, of Marietta began the  process of adopting their two granddaughters Mikeya, 10, and Lanell, 12, and the adoption is now official.

The two, who have been previously featured in The Marietta Times, have raised their two granddaughters from the time they were born, due to the mother’s prominent drug problem.

Faith wanted to be able to give their granddaughters the best future and life they could possibly have and she knew they didn’t have a choice but to officially adopt.

“The government does not recognize these children living in our house,” she said. “We wanted to make sure their future is secure and that they have everything they need to go on.”

The adoption was labeled as a no-consent needed adoption which means the court finds that the children have been abandoned.

According to Steve, their daughter has been absent for three years and both of the children’s fathers have been absent for several years as well.

“I believe she wanted to be a mother very badly, but she got into drugs and that led to more things down the road,” said Faith.

Faith said the hardest part of the process was the financial aspect of it all.

“The hidden cost is what gets you, I figured since we had them since the day they were born, I thought I’d just come in and say I want to adopt these kids and then it would be over with,” said Faith. “There was a lot of red tape that was unexpected.”

According to Faith, there is an initial retainer fee for a lawyer at $1,000 or more plus an additional $2,000 in court costs, and $825 per each home study.

Faith said she would love to see the laws change for the people that are in their position.

“Today there are a lot of grandparents in our situation that are raising their grandchildren and either get custody which is what we started first or they adopt,” said Faith. “As grandparents we have no rights. You have to fight for everything you get.”

After months of research, the grandparents were able to find a few helpful outlets for other families going through the same situation.

“There is a National Adoption Foundation where you can get grants and loans through a bank that they set up,” said Faith.

The AARP website even provides a page dedicated to how grandparents begin the process of adopting their grandchildren.

But the best advice the grandparents can give lies within three simple steps.

“Make sure to have a good attorney, be prepared financially and to never ever lose faith, because sometimes through this that’s all you have to stand on,” said Faith.

Though the process wasn’t easy, Mikeya and Lanell now know that they have a forever home.

“They know that we are always going to be there for them, and they’ll never be left alone,” said Steve.

Faith said the girls felt instant relief as soon as they received the news.

“They were angry because they wondered why nobody else was at the court hearing,” said Faith. “But after that you were able to see instant relief sweep over them.”

Faith said she feels as if nothing has changed because this is what they’ve always known.

“We know that a piece of paper doesn’t change anything,” said Faith. “We know that we love each other and we are always there for each other.”

Steve said it has been a big relief upon hearing the news and now their lives are much better and a lot calmer and easier.

The girls said they are excited to have the rest of their future with their grandparents.

“When they get older and I get an apartment they have to come live with me because Lanell said she was going to put them in a nursing home,” Mikeya giggled.

Lanell who currently attends Marietta Middle School, plans to attend Marietta College in the future.

“I just want to be able to stay in Marietta,” she said.

The two girls even have nicknames for their grandfather and grandmother, Dappy and Manna.

“I just love Manna’s food and Dappy always takes me on four-wheeler rides,” said Mikeya.

The couple knew from the beginning that everything would work out the way it was supposed too, and they weren’t going to rest until the girls were officially theirs.

“To be a grandparent–it’s the best club in the world to join,” said Faith. “These girls are my life and everything that we do, we do for these girls because we want to make sure that they are happy and healthy.”

If you go

¯ Lowell Elementary School will be holding a benefit for the Kovacs family on Dec. 3, the time is to be announced.

Statistics

¯ Nationwide, 2.7 million grandparents are raising grandchildren, and about one-fifth of those have incomes that fall below the poverty line.

¯ The number of grandparents raising grandchildren is up 7 percent from 2009.

¯ The amount of children being raised by their grandparents has been rising steadily for the past 40 years, doubling the amount of households in 2010 when compared to 1970.

¯ One million children today have their grandparents as their sole parental influences while growing up.

Source: AARP.