How one Ohio lesbian couple has opened their home and hearts

When Cassidy and Nicole Moore started dating 10 years ago, the decision to have kids wasn’t an “if”; it was a “when.”

Given Nicole’s experiences growing up in the foster care system, she knew the “how” as well.

“I grew up in the system and in broken homes, so I always wanted to be that person for kids, because I didn’t have that person,” Nicole, 37, said.

Cassidy, 32, always knew she wanted children, and all she had to do was look at her partner’s face to know their future parenting path.

“With Nicole’s childhood and her clearly wanting to change the cycle of what she experienced, fostering just felt like the right thing to do,” Cassidy said.

The Northeast Ohio couple married in 2020 in a “wonderful” pandemic wedding where half the guests didn’t show up, meaning more quality time – and drinks – for those who did attend. The couple then dove headfirst into researching foster-care options.

As a same-sex couple, they shied away from some private foster and adoption agencies, as so many of them were faith-based.

“We didn’t want to encounter any discrimination,” Cassidy said. “We didn’t want to hear no, really.”

When they reached out to Summit County Children Services (SCCS), it was an immediate fit.

“They just got us and supported who we are,” Nicole said.

Currently, over 700 children in the custody of SCCS are in need of a safe, loving and caring family. Over 40% of children are placed with kin; however, the remaining children need foster homes. SCCS currently has approximately 125 foster homes – not nearly enough.

The Moores would love for more LGBTQ+ families to follow in their path to parenthood for these youth who so desperately need a home.

From two to five

The Moores will be the first to tell you that the process to be approved as foster/adoption parents was a months-long marathon: a dozen pre-services classes, paperwork galore, background checks (both of the Moores and alternate caregivers), financial certifications, home-study visits, fire inspections and the resulting updating they needed to do to their house.

At one point, as they were swapping out door handles to make them consistent throughout the house, they certainly thought, “Is this all worth it?”

Then Cassidy again looked at her partner’s face for the immediate answer.

“I could see how important this was to her,” Cassidy said. “We want to have kids anyway, so this was definitely all worth it.”

They were approved as foster parents in September 2022 and received a phone call within a month. Their excitement caused them to quickly say yes to the placement offer.

“We maybe should have paused,” Nicole laughed.

Three siblings from a large sibling set were placed with the Moores, the oldest child being a teenager.

“We went from a family of two to a family of five the Thursday before Thanksgiving,” Nicole said.

The placement came with a lot of challenges: from children being physically bigger than described on the phone to several instances of a child lashing out at the couple physically. All three were struggling with exposure to extreme trauma.

When they first picked up the middle child, Nicole told them that their sibling was in the lobby with Cassidy, her wife.

“They whipped their head around so fast I thought it would pop off,” Nicole remembered. “They said, ‘You’re gay?’ in a very ‘What the hell?’ way. And I just said, ‘Yeah. What of it? Let’s go. You’re going to our house.’”

Within a few months – following the departure of the teenager, who was reunified with their mom – the dynamic flipped.

“The middle child made leaps and bounds: learned their alphabet, was reading books, was doing math and calling us ‘Mommy’ and ‘Mama,’” Nicole said. “We got a chance to show them love and family and happiness and connection, and they thrived.”

After a year, the other two children were also reunified with their mother.

The Moore’s house was suddenly back to two.

“We would come home and wonder, ‘Why is it so quiet in here?’” Cassidy said.

Enter: Rowan

A few months later, in January of 2024, the Moores immediately said yes to a placement of twin babies who were in the NICU.

“They were four pounds each, and we spent a week in the hospital with them until they were ready to be discharged,” Nicole said.

What followed was eight months of around-the-clock care and medical appointments.

“They consumed every ounce of our life and it was so hard to say goodbye to them,” Nicole said, getting emotional. “We get updates from them and it is wonderful to see them doing so amazing, but we miss them like crazy.”

As the twins were preparing to leave the Moores’ house to live with their grandparents, the Moores received a phone call about Rowan, a 16-month-old that had been in foster care his whole life. He was about to be adopted by another couple, but that placement fell through. They read his profile and were immediately sold.

“Exactly one week before the twins left, we were matched to adopt with Rowan,” Nicole said. “Three weeks later, he moved in with us forever.”

They officially adopted Rowan in June 2025. The Moores have fostered two other boys since Rowan moved in, both short-term placements. For right now, after eight placements in four years, they have put a pause on taking more children into their home. They are planning a family vacation to Wildwood, New Jersey.

“After that, we can see us opening up our home again,” Nicole said.

Speak up

For other LGBTQ+ couples considering becoming foster parents, the couple certainly has some advice.

Cassidy implored couples to speak up if something doesn’t feel right. Due to stigma that sometimes exists around LGBTQ+ families, they sometimes become consumed with looking like a model family so as not to open themselves up to discrimination.

“We were so afraid to have a voice in the beginning and wanted to be seen as the couple that said yes,” Cassidy said. “But you have to speak up if something isn’t right with a placement to advocate for the children, because sometimes you are their only advocate.”

Nicole more simply advised couples to follow their hearts.

“If you have love that you can share, do it,” she said. “You’re going to make a bigger impact than you think you will.”

IGNITE ACTION

To learn more about becoming a foster parent, visit the Summit County Children Services website here.