About 30 children clutching teddy bears, along with their new families, will be the focus of legal proceedings in Memphis Saturday, Nov. 20, presided over by Chancellor Arnold Goldin, who will open the courthouse doors to legalize their adoptions.
As part of National Adoption Day, the chancellor will bring permanency to the lives of the children. In ceremonies beginning at 9 a.m. and lasting until noon, Goldin will make their adoptions final and legal and present them with special Adoption Day teddy bears and “New Family” certificates.
“Preparations are under way for a fun event next Saturday,” said Goldin, who had a similar, but smaller, ceremony last year. “We have a banner prepared and will be serving refreshments in the lobby outside the courtroom. Our staff is very excited and we’re looking forward to playing a role in changing the lives of these children and their new families.”
Goldin said adoptions always are the most uplifting part of his job because everyone walks out of the courtroom with a smile. Many of the adoptees who come before Goldin and other judges across Tennessee throughout the year have spent most of their young lives in state custody. In Tennessee, approximately 10,000 children are in foster care. Of those, 1,040 are eligible for adoption, including 388 with no prospective families identified. Nationwide there are 126,000 foster children in need of adoptive families.
National Adoption Month in November and National Adoption Day were designed to facilitate the adoption of foster children and bring attention to their plight. Attorneys, judges, foster care professionals and child advocates join forces during November to encourage the adoptions of children needing permanent homes. In 2003, more than 3,100 adoptions were finalized nationwide on National Adoption Day.
Goldin said in some cases, parents have voluntarily given up the children, but others have had their parental rights terminated by the courts because of child abuse or neglect.