- Santa Barbara County Child Welfare Services and the Santa Maria Juvenile Court will celebrate National Adoption Day on November 19, 2014.
- The Honorable Arthur A. Garcia will formalize 10 adoptions of local foster children as part of a nationwide celebration of adoption and adoptive families.
On Wednesday, November 19,
2014, the Santa Maria Juvenile Court will join courts across the country and
open its doors to finalize adoptions of children from foster care, and to
celebrate all families who adopt. This event will also serve to raise awareness
of the children in Santa Barbara County who are in foster care waiting for
adoptive families, and to highlight local families who have chosen to expand
their family in this special way.
National
Adoption Day is a collective, national effort to raise awareness of more than
100,000 children in foster care waiting for permanent and loving families in
the United States. In California alone,
over 13,100 children in foster care are waiting to find families they can call
their own. It is also a day to draw attention
to the more than 22,000 children who turn 18 years old without finding a forever
family. In 2013, approximately 4,500
youth in foster care were adopted by their forever families during National
Adoption Day Celebrations nationwide. It is important that the community comes
together on this special day to celebrate the joy of adoption and to encourage
more families and individuals to give children permanent families through
adoption.
The details!
What: National Adoption Day celebration in Santa Maria, California and the adoption finalizations of 10 children from this community.
Who: Honorable Arthur A. Garcia, Judge, Superior Court of California, Santa Barbara County and Devin Drake, Deputy Director for Adult and Children Services of Santa Barbara County
