On November 19, fifty-two children were officially adopted in Tarrant County. The day marked the 20th anniversary of Tarrant County Adoption Day. Judge Lori DeAngelis presided over the event, providing the official signature joining these children with their forever families.
Judge Lori DeAngelis stated, “There are so many kids that are in foster care that need families. We appreciate everybody who is here today because they stepped up,” according to Fox 4.
Judge Jesus Nevarez of the 231st District Court stated: “We are excited to be celebrating Tarrant County’s 20th anniversary of National Adoption Day, which has seen more than 1,200 children adopted to date into loving families,”
He said. “Numerous county departments and volunteers have devoted countless hours to make this day each year a very special event, and it reminds us each time that the need for forever families is as great as ever.”
The Gray family was one of the many families to participate in this year’s Adoption Day. Brittany, a teacher, and Thomas Gray live in Alvarado and have always wanted children. They knew they wanted to be involved in adoption “so that they could help change the life of a child in need of a home,” NBC DFW reported.
Brittany and her husband were moved to start fostering children during the early months of the pandemic.
“I said, ‘Why don’t we just go ahead and start fostering?’ I was teaching from home, let’s make this happen,” Brittany explained.
Siblings Mason and Madeline were placed with the Grays one year ago.
“They are the best thing to ever happen to us. They’ve just been a blessing,” Brittany shared. “We hoped that they would become available for adoption. We waited and waited. The moment we heard they were able to be adopted, we jumped on it. We were so excited.”
The Gray’s recently began fostering another child in their home.
Diane Frame adopted siblings Amelia and Joseph, who joined their family of four sisters and one brother, all of whom had been previously adopted.
“These kids, they deserve love and a happy home and I’m glad I’m giving these kids that,” Diane expressed.
NBC DFW reported last year’s Adoption Day event was canceled in Tarrant County due to the pandemic. There are currently some 2,000 children currently in the county’s foster care system and another 500 in need of foster parent volunteers.
Among the celebrants at Friday’s adoption event were volunteers from the Tarrant County chapter of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), “an organization of volunteer advocates who stand up on behalf of abused and neglected children,” as stated on its website.
CASA representatives stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the fostering system. At the beginning of 2020, there was a rise in “child abuse emergency room visits and child welfare removals in Tarrant County,” NBC DFW reported.
The CEO of CASA in Tarrant County, Don Binnicker, said, “We have probably 500 kids in the system right now that do not have volunteers, so we are always looking for volunteers. We would love to have the community folks step up, particularly men volunteers.”
He explained, “Half of the kids in care are boys and they haven’t had a lot of positive male role models. We’re also looking for minority volunteers.”
According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, as of September 7, 2021, Dallas County has 1,135 children in the foster care system. The total number of children in foster care within the whole state of Texas is 14,577.
