National Adoption Day connects 30 children in foster care to their forever families just in time for the holidays

MARION, Ill. (KBSI) – 30 children in foster care will be in their forever homes just in time for the holidays.

In celebration of National Adoption Day on November 23, 2024, hundreds of locations across Illinois are celebrating adoptions.

Thirty children in foster care will join their forever families when their adoptions are finalized this morning at the Williamson County Courthouse in Marion.

Williamson County Circuit Court Judge Amanda Byassee Gott, Illinois DCFS and private agency staff will come together to make the day memorable for these new families.

Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. and the finalizations will begin at 9 a.m. 

A celebration, including refreshments for the families, will follow. 

“Williamson County is thrilled to be hosting National Adoption Day again this year,” said Judge Amanda Byassee Gott. “Presiding over adoption proceedings where children find their forever families is one of the highlights of my time on the bench as a judge each year. As a juvenile judge, it is a privilege for me to preside over this final step of permanency for youth in care of DCFS.”

Last fiscal year 2,184 Illinois children were adopted into permanent, loving families. Today there are 2,841 youth in care with a permanency goal of adoption.

Adoption is a permanent commitment to a child. DCFS offers a range of supports to adoptive families, including reimbursement for attorney fees and court costs, a monthly subsidy, a medical card and other benefits which assist in defraying expenses associated with raising a child. Many considering adoption become licensed foster families first, giving them a better understanding of the needs of children from disrupted families before making a life-changing decision.