Adoption Day 2022: Connecting foster children with long awaited forever homes

Every year more than 100,000 children in foster care across the country await their opportunity to find a “forever home.” Many of these children spend five or more years patiently waiting to connect with their permanent and loving families.

For Luca, 2, and his adoptive parent, Tiana Silveira, that day has arrived, and the long wait is finally over. Although the two have been living together since 2020, Friday, November 18, 2022, is the first day she can legally share her last name with Luca.

Tiana, who was also a foster child, immediately fell in love with Luca the day she welcomed him into her home. They have been together for two years and she has never looked back. To have Luca's adoption made legal means everything to her.

“There is an emotional connection between us that can never be broken but once that gavel hits and we sign the papers, it’s official,” Tiana said. “It only solidifies my dedication to this wonderful and amazing baby boy, who I love with all my heart.”  

Like many other children who come to their families by way of foster care, the adoption process for Luca was not a simple one but rather a labor of love and devotion. Thanks to the County of Santa Clara Social Service Agency’s Resource Family and Adoption Programs, Tiana, Luca, and many others will hear the gavel too, making their adoptions official on Friday.

For more information view:

• Social Service Resources
• Adoption programs
   

“Every child deserves a loving and caring home. To open your heart and your home to a child is the greatest gift you can give them, but the joy you receive in return will give back for a lifetime,” said Daniel Little, Director of the Department of Family and Children's Services at the County's Social Services Agency. “When I consider the comfort and love that these newly expanded families share with one another, it brings me great hope for the future.” 

“Adoption Central” at the Santa Clara County Superior Court

On November 18, 2022, the Santa Clara County Superior Court turned the Family Justice Center Courthouse into “Adoption Central.” Extended family, court staff, judicial officers, social workers, and countless others packed the courthouse to witness as 13 adoptive families welcome 13 children into their permanent and forever homes. 

“Each adoption story is unique and although children and families come to adoption through diverse paths, they all endure the process with open hearts,” said Presiding Judge Theodore C. Zayner.  “It takes patience, flexibility, and a willingness to learn as an adoptive parent and an adoptee. We are grateful for all those who play a role in finding permanency for children in need of a family.”

Santa Clara County Superior Court judges and staff, along with the County’s Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS), kicked off the celebration with speakers at 8 a.m.

After the opening speeches, the families moved to the courtrooms, where a judge of the Superior Court made each adoption official. The event culminated in a final celebration in the 8th-floor Judicial Conference Room involving decorations, activities, and an overwhelming sense of joy.

“Despite what is happening in the world, children still need the nurturing stability of being part of permanent families,” expressed Alicia Vojnik, the Court’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer.  “The individuals, couples and families who open their hearts and lives to these children, not only create new families but a new and promising world for all involved.”

While adoptions can occur any time of the year, the Adoption Day event is an opportunity to increase public awareness of the need for adoptive parents, share information about the adoption process, and celebrate the local families who have opened their lives to children in need of a permanent home.