Right on schedule, routine meets raucousness at the Gotzman home in Central Point.

It starts every morning, as nine foster and adopted kids — most with special needs stemming from in utero exposure to methamphetamines or alcohol — pile into the kitchen, ready for breakfast. Mom Alaina, dad Roy and big sister Olivia pour cereal, find shoes and try to get everyone where they're going.

"It's definitely constant activity with kids running amok," admits Roy, home on his lunch hour and powering down a meal while putting two toddlers down for their nap. "But it's lots of fun because there are always kids around and every day is kind of different."

Just who invited so many children into this family? Alaina Gotzman is a 42-year-old woman and biological mother of four inspired by the "injustice of a system that does what's in the best interest of the drug-addicted birth parents instead of what's in the best interest of these kids." In many cases, says Gotzman, children of substance-addicted parents are returned to their homes if it is deemed "minimally adequate" by a state agency. Oftentimes, she says, that means little has been done to ensure the child has enough food, care and love.

"Every child deserves a home and the permanency of a mommy and daddy and my heart has always been compelled by that," says Gotzman.

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This drive has led the Gotzmans to adopt five boys and two girls; two other boys are currently being fostered by the couple, awaiting adoption.

Although she was directed by her faith and an enormous compassion for parentless children, Gotzman's growing family is also born of her dreams for a big family.

It all started in Cottage Grove, where Alaina and Roy grew up and later married. Following the birth of their fourth child and a miscarriage, the couple decided to stop trying for another baby.

Because Alaina's maternal instinct was still in overdrive, they started fostering, "just to see how it worked." They continued to foster when they moved to Jackson County in 1996 and it was a newborn boy who soon came into their home that fueled Gotzman's interest in adoption.

"He was born to a teenage drug addict and we were told he wouldn't live because of atrophy of the brain," she remembers. "His mom was in a recovery program and DHS (Department of Human Services) gave him back to her after four months. Her recovery didn't work out so we brought him home. It took almost another four years before the adoption was finalized — there were just a whole bunch of rabbit trails in the system."

Calling the adoption experience "brutal," Gotzman gave up the idea of more children and turned to child care instead.

Before long, "Hell on Wheels" arrived — a little boy suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome.

"He was a handful. He never slowed down, and his mother kept showing up late to pick him up," Gotzman says. "I was about to tell her I couldn't take him anymore when she said, 'I've been watching your family and wondered would you adopt my child?'

"I wouldn't have been more shocked if someone had nailed my head to the floor — he was the one kid I wouldn't have chosen. That was the pivotal moment. That was when I asked myself, 'Is this about our need, is this something we want to do, or is it something bigger?' "

Each child in the Gotzman home is given respect, dignity and love. Alaina home-schools all but one of them, whose special needs have been met through Head Start. They eat healthful, organic food when it's affordable and are given as few medications as possible.

While the couple's three oldest birth children are pastoring and serving in the Marines or on missions, Olivia plays big sister, babysitter and authority figure to her nine younger siblings.

"This has helped me to grow lots of love, patience and lots of responsibility," says the 17-year-old, who got her first foster sibling when she was 3 and her first adopted brother when she was 7. "I really had to step up because I was the baby of the family and wasn't any more, but it's been good for all of us."

Olivia has watched each of her new brothers and sisters blossom over the years.

"These kids have come out of horrible situations and their lives have changed drastically," says the home-schooled teenager. "We've prayed over them and taught them, but it's the Lord who has helped them the most."

Although the Gotzmans have promised not to "pick and choose" children, they do try to keep siblings together. They also attempt to minimize a foster child's transitions by advocating that kids who have lived with them in the past should come back to their home if life with the birth parents doesn't work out.

Most foster children are reunited with their birth parents, but some children can't go back and that's where the Gotzmans' desire to adopt can be a godsend, says Barbara Jackson, the family's DHS Child Welfare Branch foster home certifier.

Jackson cites the couple's sense of humor, flexibility and natural parenting skills as the main ingredients in their success.

"They are a really good example of people who are able to love children who have some idiosyncrasies, to meet their needs and advocate for them," Jackson says. "That's what these children need — advocates in the school and health-care systems and so forth."

Despite the Gotzmans' generous undertaking, there are plenty of children who still need a home.

"All of our kids are from Medford families and represent at least six different birth families," says Gotzman. "These issues aren't just in New York and L.A., it's happening right here and it's one baby after another baby after another baby."

In the face of such sobering reality, Gotzman seems to find strength that keeps her family looking to the future.

"When I said, 'Lord, use me,' I never expected this is what I'd be used for," she confesses. "Do I sit on my stairs sometimes and cry? Yes. Do I get overwhelmed? Yes. Do I get frustrated? Yes. And then little Noah says in his little voice: 'Where's God? He made me beautiful and He loves me.' And that keeps me going. I really believe their lives are going to be different."

Jennifer Strange is a freelance writer living in Central Point. Reach her at jlstrange@hotmail.com.

A great need

Providing foster care for one of the hundreds of local children currently in need starts with a call to the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Branch's recruitment line. Callers receive an invitation to a monthly open house/orientation, said Barbara Jackson, foster home certifier.

Eligible foster parent candidates must meet a set of standards, including emotional stability, parenting skills that incorporate non-physical disciplinary techniques and enough financial resources to support their own family. A criminal record/background check is performed, references are gathered and a family financial form must be filled out.

"We do home safety checks as well and we require people to go through a basic training program that introduces them to some of the information you need to work with the agency, the biological parents and the troop of people that come along with the child, such as attorneys and advocates," explains Jackson.

Considered a volunteer service, foster parents are compensated on a per child/per month basis in the amount of $387 for a child 0 to 5 years old, $402 for children 6 to 12, and $497 for each child 13 to 18 years old. A medical card for each child also is provided to cover any medical, dental and optical needs.

"It's a board rate to recompense foster parents for the expenditure of children: the child's food, clothing, share of utilities, pocket money, doing the laundry, basically the cost of having an extra person in the house," Jackson said. "A lot of people who are really conscientious actually end up spending their own money."

Although it is the goal of DHS to reunite children with their birth families as soon as possible, there is still a marked lack of local foster care available.

"There is a shortage to the point that sometimes we have to beg people to take extra kids and often have more children in a home than we'd like to see," Jackson said. "What we really need are families that could commit to one child or a single sibling group for a temporary period of time."

To find out if you're eligible to be a foster parent, contact the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Branch: 909 Royal Court, Medford, OR 97504; call 776-6120, Ext. 264; or visit www.dhs.state.or.us online.