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COUNCIL BLUFFS — Twenty-four children will officially join their “forever families” today at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse as part of National Adoption Day.
The annual event provides an opportunity to finalize adoptions that may have been held up by other court cases.
“It really is a day to celebrate that children who have been in foster care are finding their permanent families,” said Iowa District Judge Kathleen Kilnoski. “It’s a way to highlight the need to continue to recruit parents who are willing to adopt children.”
Many families have participated in the local observance since it began in 2006, Kilnoski said.
“Each year, we have had about 20 to 25 children who have been adopted,” she said.
An opening ceremony will be at 9 a.m. It will include a welcome by Kilnoski, a proclamation by Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan, a keynote address by adult adoptee Dr. Jeff Snyder, and the story of a girl and her adoptive mother. Opening events will be followed by adoption ceremonies, photographs and activities for adopted children and their families.
“The kids all will have a special gift,” Kilnoski said. “There are CASA volunteers and other people who have been putting together little gift bags for our families that we will give them after the adoption hearings. We’ve had a lot of local retail and community members make donations and help us with gifts: Walmart, Hy-Vee, Bloom Works, Portraits by Jacqueline, CASA (court-appointed special advocates), Prevent Child Abuse Pottawattamie County and Promise Partners.”
“Adoption Saturdays” were created in 1998 by a juvenile court judge in California who recognized that even when a permanent home has been found for children, finalization of adoptions are often delayed because of more pressing, crisis-oriented children’s cases. Juvenile courts nationwide began following this model, and Adoption Day became a national event in 2000.
Courts are open an extra morning to make the event possible, Kilnoski said, and judges, court reporters and clerks volunteer their time.
“The Pottawattamie County supervisors are very gracious in letting the court open on Saturday morning,” she said.
It is a rewarding experience, Kilnoski said.
“There is absolutely nothing better in my work than celebrating Adoption Day with the families,” she said.
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