(Getty Images)
The Duggars are adopting. This will be the 20th child for parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.
The couple is taking custody of their great-nephew, who is 8 years old. The boy is the son of the Duggars’ niece, Rachel Hutchins, who is unable to care for him. She has reportedly struggled with a number of financial and legal issues, and is currently homeless and unemployed.
Hutchins previously relinquished guardianship of her kid to her mother, who is Michelle’s sister. But she suffered a stroke in July. Since then, the Duggars have taken the boy in and have temporary custody of him.
They intend to go to court in November to make the guardianship permanent, and then start the adoption process. Hutchins, 23 and currently on probation, is said to be on board with the plan. This will be the first adopted child for the Duggars, who famously have 19 children of their own.
The TLC reality series “19 Kids and Counting” documented their life in Arkansas, but was canceled last year after it emerged oldest child Josh Duggar has molested underage girls, including his own sisters, when he was a teen. Josh later went to rehab after being caught in an infidelity scandal.
Jessa Duggar, one of Josh’s victims, and some of her siblings currently star on the spinoff show “Counting On.” The boy is not expected to join the family on TV, however, and will primarily be kept out of the spotlight. The Duggars are pictured above in 2014. In Touch first reported the news.
