Former prison guard Roberta Bell lost her job back in 2023 after she agreed to take care of an inmate’s newborn child. Two years later, she was recently surprised with a reunion with the toddler.
CBS News reported in 2023 about Bell, who lives in Vicksburg, MS.
The 58-year-old lives in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and is raising five of her eight grandchildren. Earlier this year, there was another child who needed her care.
"There was an inmate that needed assistance, some help. She was pregnant," Bell said.
Bell, a correctional officer at the Louisiana Transitional Center for Women, met Katie Bourgeois, who had about two months left on her sentence — but was about to give birth. Bell said there wasn't anyone in Bourgeois' family who could get the newborn, and that she was looking for someone who could care for the baby until she was released. Bourgeois asked Bell if she would take in the baby, and Bell agreed.
Bell said she alerted her supervisor to the situation. She said that he warned her that it was a conflict of interest, but later asked her if she was still planning on caring for the baby.
“I said, if the hospital calls me to come get that baby, I'm going to get that baby," Bell said. "And he said, 'Well, OK, I'm going to have to terminate you.'"
That is exactly what happened.
One week after losing her job, Bell was informed that the baby, named Kayson, had been born. She told CBS News that she “started taking pictures.”
"He was so precious. I put his clothes and stuff on him and I held him for a little while. They buckled him into a car seat, and we left and we came home. ... For two months I raised him. I loved him as he was my own, and I still love him today."
After Bourgeois was released, she picked Kayson up. The child was later placed in foster care with parents who adopted him after the mother relapsed into drug use. This is where Bell’s surprise came, according to another CBS News report.
Outside a Louisiana courthouse, Roberta Bell embraced a toddler she hadn't seen in nearly two years, unaware that what she thought was a court-appointed visit was actually something much more significant.
"Oh, my baby. My baby – my little man," Bell said tearfully as she held Kayson, the child she had raised from birth two years ago when his mother was incarcerated.
She lost her job to protect a baby who wasn’t hers. Two years later — a courthouse surprise changes everything.
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) May 4, 2025
This is the story of Roberta Bell — a former correctional officer who did the unthinkable for a newborn. She risked it all to keep him safe. What happened this week?… pic.twitter.com/tHV53taNIn
Bell said, “It just broke my heart” when she found out Bourgeois relapsed. “I had sacrificed to make sure that he would be taken care of.” However, Kayson’s new parents, Skylar and Christian Moore, reached out to Bell after finding out she had previously taken care of the child.
"This was basically her baby. You know, she had him for the first couple months of his life and now she didn't know where he was," Skylar Moore said. "In my heart, I told my husband, I can't let her go to sleep another night, not knowing that he's safe."
What Bell didn't know when she arrived at the courthouse that morning was that the Moores had applied to adopt Kayson. Judge Jeffrey Cashe made the adoption official, with Bell as the guest of honor.
Roberta Bell is a hero! Roberta was a corrections officer when she decided to help take care of an inmate's baby! After being fired for her decision, Roberta received $90,000 in donations! Today, she’s starting a transitional home for women leaving prison! #BlackExcellence pic.twitter.com/ky7c82kycM
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) November 18, 2023
Bell now sorts cans at a processing plant after she was fired. The couple plans to continue including Bell in Kayson’s life.