Dozens of families gathered in Southwest D.C. Saturday for the 37th annual D.C. Courts Adoption Day to the foster children who have found their forever homes over the past year.
In total, the D.C. Superior Court’s Family Division and the D.C. Department of Child and Family Services Agency celebrated finding homes for 143 children within the system.
“The joy between the children and these families, and the social workers and lawyers and judges and people working on these cases, when we can get a safe home for children is extraordinary,” D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring told WTOP.
She, along with other judges and staff with CFSA, welcomed children and their new parents at The Point in the District for food and music to celebrate the latest Adoption Day.
One such family was the Dolces, who adopted two-year-old Ezra last year after serving as his foster family since he was three weeks old.
“It’s been a lot having a lot of twists and turns that, you know, we didn’t necessarily anticipate at the beginning, but it’s been a great blessing all along the way,” said Eric Dolce, Ezra’s new father.
“Adoption is love multiplying. You’re bringing a whole human into your family. And so we’re not going to pretend that this is easy. But there is an energy that you get when you love this person and you’re committed and invested in the life of this person. You get more, not less, when you adopt,” Nana Dolce said.
The Dolces said they have even kept in contact with Ezra’s biological family, including his grandmother, uncle and several siblings.
“There was a lot of love on their side. But it just wasn’t the right time for the different kin to adopt. It just didn’t work out because there was so much happening, but they’ve loved him from the beginning and they’ve been very supportive of us,” Eric said.
“We’re thankful that he came into our family, and it gave us an even bigger family,” Nana added.
Ezra’s oldest sister Joel was excited about having a little brother.
“I think it’s really fun to have a little brother here. I can learn more about patience,” she said, as the family burst into laughter.
The Dolces are one of many families that Judge Josey-Herring described as unselfish and “willing to put in the hard work to parent children who were not their own.”
Judge Josey-Herring also said that many other children in need of loving parents and forever homes still remain within the system. CFSA estimates that around 58 foster children still need loving parents.
