Safe Children Coalition Celebrates National Adoption Day

November 22, 2024 | Sarasota

November is National Adoption Month; while National Adoption Day is November 23, local child welfare agency Safe Children Coalition celebrated just a little early, on November 15, with the adoption of 21 children by 16 area families. The superhero-themed event included a celebration in the Judge Lynn N. Silvertooth Judicial Center Jury Room, with food, music and an adoption story by Judge Stephen Walker. The adoptions were finalized afterwards in courtrooms, officiated by Judges Andrea McHugh, Susan Maulucci, and Gilbert Smith.

Over the course of the afternoon, 17 adoptions were held in person and four were performed via Zoom. To add to the celebratory spirit, Safe Children Coalition program teams and case managers dressed in superhero costumes and posed for fun photos with attending children and families.

Hosting organizations included Safe Children Coalition (SCC), Children’s Legal Services, the Guardian ad Litem Office, and the Twelfth Judicial Court Circuit. Sponsors of the event included Selfless Love Foundation and HOAA Adoptions Services, while the Manatee County Bar Association and Sarasota County Bar Association provided volunteers. Food for the event was donated by Boars Head and Chick-fil-A.

“While every member of our team knows that their work is making a difference in the lives of the children and families we serve, there is nothing like being a part of a mass adoption celebration to lift our spirits and reaffirm our passion for the work we do,” said Sarah Hawk, SCC’s Vice President of Programs. “It is truly magical – every single time – to see the joy in a child’s eyes when they fully understand how much they are wanted and loved. We are grateful to all of our partners who helped to make the National Adoption Day event so special for all involved!”

In cases where children have been removed from the home due to concerns for their well-being, SCC’s primary goal is always to reunify families – once the appropriate authorities have deemed that it is safe and healthy for the child(ren) to return home. However, in some cases, children are not able to return home to their birth families and permanent adoptive homes are needed.

SCC believes that there are no unwanted children – only unfound families – and that every child deserves a safe, loving “forever family.” In FY24, 142 children, from infants to teens, found their forever homes through SCC’s Adoption Program.

As the lead community-based care agency for Florida’s Department of Children and Families for Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties, Safe Children Coalition provides the training necessary for families to foster or adopt.

To become an adoptive family, potential caretakers must participate in a training and selection program called Adoption Parent Training Class. This involves 24 hours of curriculum (with topics including recognizing and working with grief/trauma, identifying family strengths to help guide finding the right match, parent techniques to support special needs of children in foster care, and more); the course is free. There is also a home study as well as a background screening process: all household members must undergo local law, FBI/FDLE and abuse registry clearance to be eligible.

Pre-adoptive parents signed up through SCC can research and seek out children to adopt and are also assisted by the agency through a match-making process when they are a good fit for children who are available for adoption.

Throughout the year, there are as many as 1,500 children in Circuit 12 (Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties) who are not able to safely remain in their homes due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. Foster homes provide these children with stability and a place to heal until – if possible – they can safely return to their parent(s). If that is not possible, then an adoptive family will be sought.

Anyone considering adopting a child or children is encouraged to call SCC’s recruitment line at 941-724-1101 or visit sccfl.org/adopt. For more about Safe Children Coalition, visit sccfl.org.