Camden County celebrates 10th Annual National Adoption Day, on Friday, Nov. 22.
For ten years, the Freeholder Board and Surrogate Pat Jones have been connecting appreciative children with loving families as part of National Adoption Day. This year’s 51 children will have their adoptions finalized.
Jones talked about the process and how vital it is for matching children and parents throughout Camden County and the historic numbers this year.
“What could be more important than matching a child with loving parents inside a stable home?” Jones said. “It is my distinct honor to participate and bring together adoptive parents, the Surrogate’s Court staff, adoption professionals, judges and attorneys to celebrate and honor the families who are finalizing their adoptions.”
“This is an unprecedented year for adopting children in Camden County because we are executing the most adoptions ever, in one day, in our history,” Jones explained.
Camden County consistently finalizes the highest number of adoptions per year in the State of New Jersey. These adoptions represent the full spectrum of cases facilitated by the Surrogate’s Court throughout the year, including domestic and international adoptions as well as adoptions facilitated through private agencies and the New Jersey State Department of Children and Families.
“Today, we have a family that will be finalizing the adoption of a child from the Philippines,” Jones said. “It is remarkable to think that this child has so much to look forward to with his new family while those in his native country struggle to recover from a devastating natural disaster.”
The Camden County Surrogate’s Court finalizes the largest number of international, or Hague Adoption Convention, cases in the state each year. The Hague Adoption Convention established international standards of practices for inter-country adoptions that have been followed in the United States since 2008.
“Four Camden County Superior Court Judges will hear a special caseload of adoptions that will finalize the adoptions of the 51 children that day,” Jones said. “This is significant since some counties in New Jersey facilitate less than that many adoption cases in an entire year.”
