Older kids in Northwest Arkansas are getting caught in the system when it comes to adoption.

They are all over seven years old, which makes them difficult to place.

Dawn Reed, President of Northwest Arkansas Adoption Coalition said, "Most people want babies or small children. The children we have in the heart gallery are difficult children."

Reed thinks Act One, which prohibits cohabiting, unmarried couples from adopting, hasn't made that large an impact in the area. The real challenge is finding people who are willing to commit.

"The people are there, but then when they get the children, that's when the issue comes up. People think love can fix everything, and it can't," Reed said.
 
Half of the children without homes could be placed if the parents would decide they were okay with having an older child.

"We have 10 that are open and waiting for children. The children are there, it's just if they're the type of children they want," Reed said.

What's even harder for these kids than not being chosen, Reed noted, is being returned to state services.

"Whenever the children are returned, it just breaks their spirits. They get to the point where they think no one loves them, nobody thinks they're deserving. And that's what people hear, 'Are you going to send me back now?' And we need people who say no."

To see the kids who need homes in the Northwest Arkansas Heart Gallery, click here.