PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Dept. of Social Services joins with community partners during November to recognize the importance of giving children permanent, safe, and loving families through adoption.
As a kickoff to the celebration, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners voted Oct. 18 to proclaim Nov. 20 as “Adoption Day” in Chatham County.
National Adoption Day is a collective effort to raise awareness of the more than 123,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States. Here in Chatham County, there are nearly 100 children currently in foster care. Through diligent work of social workers and numerous community partners, many of these children will be reunited with their parents; however, some will join those 123,000 nationwide searching for an adoptive home. To help these children find permanent, nurturing families, the local courts of Chatham County will join the Social Services and other organizations to share local stories of adoption throughout November to honor Adoption Day.
“We hope you will join us to learn more about what foster care and adoption look like in the Chatham community, while celebrating the local families who have opened their hearts and homes to deserving children,” said DSS’s Wilder Horner. “It also is a chance to find new ways to become involved through programs like Communities In Schools, Guardian Ad Litem and FACES of Chatham County.”
Chatham County’s effort, along with 400 other cities in the United States, will offer children the chance to live with stable and loving families and encourage other dedicated individuals to make a powerful difference in the lives of a child through adoption.
Thanks to the efforts of policymakers, advocates, and practitioners, more than 75,000 children have been adopted on National Adoption Day in the past 21 years. Many of these children have been waiting for years in foster care to finally have a place to call home.
Chatham County Clerk of Court Dana M. Hackney is the presiding judge over adoptions.
“Very few people come into the courthouse with a smile on their face; however, adoptions are one of the few exceptions,” said Hackney. “To see those smiling faces come into the courtroom and those same smiling faces leave the courtroom as a family is the absolute best part of my job.”
Individuals interested in fostering or adopting can visit https://www.adoptuskids.org. Those interested in fostering or adopting in Chatham County can email Katelyn Cannizzaro at katelyn.cannizzaro@chathamcountync.gov.