National Adoption Day is an annual event, celebrated since 2000, that has placed more than 75,000 children living in foster care with forever families. In 400 cities across the nation, policymakers, advocates, and key players in the family court system have collaborated to plan events in furtherance of the event’s shared goals: calling attention to the large number of children in the foster care system, reducing the backlog of adoption cases in family courts across the nation, and celebrating the successful adoption of foster children by loving parents.
Celebrations are taking place in cities across the nation. In Houston, four Harris County Family District Courts are celebrating forever families and bringing awareness to the 140,000 children nationwide awaiting adoption.
Judge Angela Graves-Harrington (246th District Court), Administrative Judge of the Harris County Board of Family District Judges, Judge Linda Dunson (309th District Court), Judge Sonya Heath (310th District Court), and Judge Germaine Tanner (311th District Court) will finalize approximately 20 adoptions tomorrow, November 19, 2021. These four Harris County Judges will host private adoptions as well as adoptions with the Department of Famliy and Protective Services.
Events start at 9:00 am and and will include adoption ceremonies and a lot of fun with special guests, food, music, face-painting, and more.
To begin your research about the adoption process in Texas, please read our previous blog post on this topic. You will find information about forms, as well as links to local lawyer referral services for Houston and Harris County. Additional links are provided below.
Texas Adoption Resource Exchange – DFPS Texas
Requirements for Foster/Adopt Families
Steps to Become a Foster/Adoptive Parent
Search for Children Waiting for Adoption
Foster Care and Adoption Information Meetings - Houston
Frequently Asked Questions About Adoption
CASA Deep Dive: Adopting a Child from Foster Care
Resources to Help Adoptive Families Thrive
Child Protective Services (CPS): Adoptions Consummated
Texas Foster Care and Adoption Guidelines – AdoptUSKids
Adoption Evaluations – Harris County Domestic Relations Office
Glossary: Family Building via Adoption and Foster Care – Family Equality Council