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Days before her 18th birthday, Michigan teen's adoption dream comes true

C'Nai Lange spent her whole life -- 6,567 days to be exact -- in foster care.
From L to R: Bennett Malburg, 16; Joshua Lange, 11; Alissa Malburg, 19; Caiden Lange, 4; Mich. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Clement; C'Nai Lange, 17; Deante Lange, 10; Lisa Lange; Kathy Lange, and Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Tracey Yokich.

C’Nai Lange always dreamed of being adopted before she turned 18.

After spending her whole life — 6,567 days to be exact — in foster care, C’Nai’s dream finally came true.

A week before her 18th birthday.

“It’s just the best,” C’Nai said with a smile after her moms, Kathy and Lisa Lange, adopted her Friday in Macomb County Circuit Court. “Without them, I really don’t know where I’d be today.”

“You don’t have to say, 'I aged out of the system,' ” Lisa Lange told her 17-year-old daughter.

Kathy Lange agreed, saying her daughter “has beaten the odds remarkably.”

C'Nai's adoption so close to adulthood isn't the only way she's beating the odds. She is a Wayne State University student studying biology and focusing on premed.

According to a review of multiple studies by The Pew Charitable Trusts, about 20 percent of foster youths who graduate from high school go to college, compared with 60 percent of high school graduates overall.

One reason for C'Nai's success?

Her family.

"I've never had parents before," she said.

C’Nai's birth mother left the hospital without taking her child, and the 17-year-old doesn't know her dad. He's not listed on her birth certificate, Kathy Lange said.

C'Nai's childhood involved bouncing between living with different aunts before, six years ago, she met the Macomb Township couple who would eventually become her adoptive parents.

But after eight months of living with the Langes, an aunt returned to get C'Nai and her then-14-year-old brother. Four years later, things weren't going well, and C'Nai sent the Langes an Instagram message indicating she was in trouble. They still have the texts that they exchanged.

Lisa Lange, left, and Kathy Lange, both of Macomb Township, clap for their daughter, C'Nai Lange, 17, who they adopted Oct. 19, 2018 in Macomb County Circuit Court. (Photo: Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press)

Kathy Lange said the couple still had a foster care license and was adopting another child. She said C’Nai was placed with them in June 2017. With the Langes, C’Nai got support and therapy, a steady schedule and something she said she never had before — parenting.

On Friday, C’Nai, the Langes and C’Nai’s five new siblings — ranging in age from 4 to 19 — filed into Judge Tracey Yokich’s courtroom.

So did a handful of other family members and friends, several carrying signs: “We did not give you the gift of life — life gave us the gift of you” and one that partially read: “DNA does not make a family — love does.”

A special guest also came in for C'Nai's adoption: Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Clement.

Clement said she previously met C’Nai and Kathy Lange at a foster care system-related event.

“I connected immediately. She and her family are incredible. She told me she wanted to be adopted by the time she turned 18, and I wanted to be there,” Clement said. “This is my priority, and I wasn’t going to miss this.”

The adoption date was adjusted to accommodate a day that worked for Clement, who had to leave after C'Nai's adoption to return to East Lansing for another commitment.

During the adoption proceeding, Clement told C’Nai and her family that this was “a very important day” for them and offered C’Nai support as she becomes an adult. The proceeding had its formalities — C’Nai signing paperwork; she and her moms answering questions from Yokich.

C'Nai Lange, 17, and her mom, Kathy Lange, both of Macomb Township, hug after the Lange family adopted C'Nai on Oct. 19, 2018 in Macomb County Circuit Court. (Photo: Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press)

C’Nai thanked her moms.

“You guys really truly, brought the light into my life, and I don’t know where I’d be without you guys,” she told them in the courtroom.

C’Nai then handed Kathy Lange a silver box with a “K” etched on it. Inside was a necklace with two hearts and a message from C’Nai thanking her and telling her that she loved her.

“That’s just lovely, Miss C’Nai Jade Lange,” Yokich said, announcing C’Nai’s new name, as the mom and daughter hugged.

C’Nai’s adoption comes a few weeks before National Adoption Month in November, with more than 30 courts statewide expected to have a public adoption ceremony, said John Nevin, spokesman for the State Court Administrative Office.

There are about 13,700 children in the foster care system in Michigan, according to statistics provided by the office. And there are about 2,100 children whose parents’ rights have been terminated and are available for adoption, of which about 320 children need a permanent family through adoption.

C'Nai Lange, 17, of Macomb Township holds a double heart necklace that she bought for her mom, Kathy Lange. She gave her mom the necklace during the adoption proceeding in Macomb County Circuit Court on Oct. 19, 2018. (Photo: Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press)

In fiscal year 2017, more than 2,000 children were adopted through the state Department of Health and Human Services and private adoption agencies, according to the statistics.

The Langes said they have fostered 11 children and adopted four since 2010. C’Nai is expected to be their last.

And for C’Nai, her winding foster care journey is finally over.

She found her home.

And she's proof that dreams can come true.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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