Foster Siblings Reunion

“Trooper II Quaron Crenshaw knows all too well what life is like growing up without a family of his own.

The New Jersey native tells Independent Journal Review he had been in foster care since he was 7 years old, feeling “hopeless” and “rejected”

“I was raised in the inner city, I never thought I’d be a cop. I got a reality check of what law enforcement really does in this country and I’ve since worked for New Jersey State Police Department, a Sheriff’s Department and the federal government.

It makes me feel good to work for the NJSP. In the end, it shows me that coming from foster care, nobody wanted me, but now I’m making a difference.”
Trooper Crenshaw now speaks at recruitment events to help other kids realize their potential, especially children in the foster care system.
While recently working a career fair at the Newark campus for Rutgers University, Crenshaw crossed paths with two teens who had a lot more in common than simply being foster kids.

According to the NJSP Facebook page, Terrell and Faith were siblings separated eight years ago and hadn’t seen each other since that fateful day.

By “sheer chance,” or what many believe to be divine intervention, Terrell asked if Faith’s last name had been changed by her foster family, to which she said they had. And just like that, brother and sister were reunited once more:

Trooper Crenshaw witnessed the entire thing go down, something he describes as an “incredible” moment:

“I heard a scream and the kid [Terrell] comes up to me and says, ‘I’ve been trying to find her for 8 years!’ Terrell told me he had actually been trying to find her on Facebook, but they changed her last name.

He told me, ‘Imagine not seeing your family for 8 years,’ to which I replied, “Imagine not seeing family since you were 7 years old.’”

When Crenshaw explained he had been in and out of foster care for years, the siblings were in shock. He told them:

“You feel like you’re nothing [in foster care], but look at me now — you CAN be something!”

Coming from a family of five kids, Trooper Crenshaw knows the importance of family. He was separated from three of his siblings, but was able to stick with his brother. They’ve all since been reunited.

Today, Crenshaw and his wife have two daughters of their own, both of whom were formerly in foster care, too:

“We were in the process of having children and decided to adopt two foster kids, ages 4 and 7. One daughter has blonde hair and blue eyes, the other has blonde hair and green eyes.”

He tells Independent Journal Review the reason he took a job with NJSP in the first place was to recruit kids to join the police community, something he’s extremely proud to be a part of, despite what might be happening currently around the country:

“My job is to help everybody, no matter their race. I always tell the kids I meet, “You can’t base one thing you see on the news and judge people in law enforcement. There’s gonna be a bad apple in each one, but there are more good cops than bad cops.’”

Trooper Crenshaw mentioned that NJSP recruiting units will be hiring in January 2017 and encouraged both Terrell and Faith to consider a career in law enforcement.

His underlying message to children everywhere is to “never give up” on their dreams.”

Foster Siblings Find Each Other 8 Years Later at Job Fair Thanks to a Cop Who’s Been In Their Shoes

[IJR 8/16/16 by Kayla Brandon]

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