National Adoption Day

It’s that time of year again. A trio of months from October through December, containing a rash of celebrations that I begrudgingly participate in. Every year, I spend Columbus Day in afforded leisure, attire myself ridiculously on Halloween, and nonchalantly prepare for the excitement of Christmas.

On November 21st, our country celebrated National Adoption Day. Every year, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, courts across the country finalize the adoptions of children from foster care. Since this tradition began in 2000, 54,000 children have been adopted from foster care on National Adoption Day.

Nearly 170 foster children were adopted Friday during the National Adoption Day event at the Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court in Monterey Park just east of Los Angeles. This marks the 16th time the court has taken part in the adoption celebration in which 400 courts from across the country finalize adoptions and honor families that have adopted youth from the child welfare system.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), a longtime advocate for children’s rights, released a video this week in acknowledgement of National Adoption Day on November 21st. In the video, Grassley discusses both domestic and international adoption, specifically children in the Congo whose adoptions have been finalized but whose travel documents are being held up by the Congolese government, preventing them from joining their adoptive families in the U.S.