National Adoption Day

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF.–  This past Friday the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency joined together in celebration of...

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF.–  This past Friday the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency joined together in celebration of National Adoption Day, by helping to place 19 children into 16 permanent homes. The goal of the event is to increase public awareness of the need for adoptive parents, to educate would-be parents about the adoptive process, and to celebrate the local families who have opened their lives to children in need of permanent homes.

“The finalizing of a child’s adoption is a profound moment that forever changes the lives of a family and the community,” said Presiding Judge, Hon. Risë Jones Pichon. “As we begin this holiday season, sixteen newly formed families will have something to be immeasurably thankful for this year.  All of us at the Court are pleased and privileged to be a part of this joyful experience.”

A total of eight Santa Clara county Superior Court judges, with help from Superior Court and Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children’s Services staff, will expedite the processing and finalizing of 19 local adoptions when they turn the Downtown Courthouse into “Adoption Central.”

“Adoptions can make families stronger and happier,” said President Dave Cortese, County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors. “They offer an opportunity for a child and a parent to make each other’s lives more meaningful and fulfilling.”

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are approximately 402,378 children in the foster care system with more than 100,000 of them awaiting forever homes.  These children enter foster care as a result of abuse, neglect and/or abandonment. The average child has to wait nearly four years for an adoptive family. Nearly 13 percent (13,217 children) spend 5 years or more waiting for a family.  The average age of children waiting for an adoptive family is 8 years old. In the past 53 years, Santa Clara County has processed more than 8,000 adoptions. Last year, the County’s Department of Family and Children’s Services finalized 145 adoptions.

“This event inspires all of us to promote and support adoption by celebrating the creation of these new families,” said Santa Clara County Social Services Agency Director Robert Menicocci.  “As noted in this year’s national campaign, ‘We Never Outgrow the Need for Family.’ The adoptions that we are honoring today provide these children the safe, loving, nurturing, accepting and consistent families that

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