Established in 1995 by a presidential order, National Adoption Month (NAM) seeks to bring awareness to the needs of the hundreds of thousands of children in need of forever families, and it also celebrates the many stories of those families who have joyfully grown through adoption.
As of July 2019, there are over 13,000 children in foster care awaiting permanent families in Arizona. That’s almost enough to fill the entire Talking Stick Resort Arena. Our state also leads the nation per capita for children in group homes and shelters, with the Department of Child Services (DCS) caseloads being 78% higher than the national average.
The facts are staggering, and these are not statistics in which any state should want to lead, but they’re a constant reminder of our mission. They’re the reason that we at Agape Adoption Agency of Arizona, Inc., along with many like-minded organizations and individuals, are so passionate about promoting National Adoption Month.
In Maricopa County, National Adoption Month has been celebrated for 20 consecutive years. The celebration culminates the Saturday before Thanksgiving (National Adoption Day) with family activities outside the Durango Juvenile Courthouse, where adoption finalization hearings take place all day.
In recent years, Maricopa County’s National Adoption Day event has been the largest of any in the U.S., with more children adopted here than in any other county or municipality nationwide. In November 2018, 168 children were adopted into loving homes, with that number expected to increase this year, when National Adoption Day will be celebrated in Maricopa County on Saturday, November 23rd.
Here at Agape, we are relentlessly committed to the reality that every child deserves to be welcomed and loved in a nurturing, permanent family. And while National Adoption Month and Day are important yearly milestones, we are committed to living out this mission each and every day.
Maricopa County’s 2019 National Adoption Day celebration takes place at the Durango Juvenile Court Center and is open to the public. If you’re interested in exploring adoption or have any other questions related to it, we encourage you to attend. You can visit Maricopa County’s National Adoption Day Foundation website at http://maricopanad.com/. We hope to see you on Saturday, November 23rd!
Durango Juvenile Courthouse Center is located at 3131 West Durango Street, Phoenix, AZ 85009.
