Child Advocates and Its Partners Celebrate National
Adoption Day
Fort Bend County 328th and 387th
and 505th District Courts Finalize 13 Adoptions
The Honorable Judge Walter Armatys and The
Honorable Judge Janet B. Heppard and The Honorable Judge Kali Morgan finalized 13 adoptions on Friday in celebration of National
Adoption Day. An Additional 17 children were adopted out of the foster care
system earlier this year. The Fort Bend County 328th, 387th,
and 505th District Courts joined courts across the country in
opening their doors on National Adoption Day to complete adoptions and
celebrate all families who adopt.
“We had a great turnout and today’s hybrid National Adoption
Day was a wonderful celebration for the children and their families” said Ruthanne
Mefford, Child Advocates of Fort Bend CEO. It is always great to see the
attorneys, CPS, Court Appointed Special
Advocate (CASA) volunteers and judges all work together to finalize the
adoptions and ultimately give these children safe, permanent and loving homes.
It is wonderful to see them all settled in loving homes.”
Here in Fort Bend County, the
District Courts, Child Advocates of Fort Bend (CAFB) and its partner agencies:
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Fort Bend County Child
Welfare Board, Fort Bend County Attorney’s Office, Fort Bend Behavioral Health Services,
the Fort Bend
Court Team for Maltreated
Infants and Toddlers, H.E.B., Bikers Against Child Abuse and the
Rosenberg Exchange Club worked
together to celebrate the joys of adoption and encourage more families and individuals
to give children permanent homes through adoption.
Families were given the option to consummate their
adoptions in person or virtually. The Fort Bend National Adoption Day team
planned a hybrid event to accommodate families at all comfort levels. Last year’s
drive thru celebration at Child Advocates of Fort Bend’s Davis George Campus
was such a hit that the team decided to do it again. This year, families could
drive through or park and participate in an outdoor celebration, depending on
their comfort level. Cultivating Families, Arms Wide Open Adoptions,
Biker’s Against Child Abuse, Sanctuary Foster Care, Southern Ice Cream, ArtREACH,
Aguirre Fields Engineering Innovators, Fort Bend Junior Services League, Rosenberg
Exchange Club and Child Advocates of Fort Bend Volunteers all participated in the
celebration at Child Advocates of Fort Bend’s Davis George.
About Child Advocates of Fort Bend:
Child Advocates of Fort Bend (CAFB) is a
non-profit agency dedicated to ending child abuse by Strengthening the Voice of
the Child, Healing the Hurt, and Breaking the Cycle of abuse and neglect for
children and their families in Fort Bend and surrounding counties. Through its
Court Appointed Special Advocates Program (CASATM), Children’s
Advocacy Center (CAC) and more than 200 trained community volunteer advocates,
Child Advocates improves the lives of more than 400 children each month and has
served more than 19,000 children since opening its doors in 1991. CAFB is one
of only a few programs in the country that is able to provide a volunteer
advocate for every child in foster care.
The
agency’s 30th Annual Christmas Home Tour which supports its programs
for children is set for December 10 + 11, 2021. Sponsorships of $100 - $10,000
are now available. For more information about the Tour or to sponsor go to
https://www.cafb.org/events/home-tour-2/ or contact Tarina Sheridan at tsheridan@cafb.org
About National Adoption
Day
National
Adoption Day is sponsored by a coalition of national partners – The Alliance
for Children’s Rights, Casey Family Services, Children’s Action Network, The
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Dave Thomas Foundation for
Adoption, Freddie Mac Foundation and Target Corporation – to draw special
attention to the more than 125,000 foster children waiting for adoption in the
United States and to celebrate all loving families who adopt.
