The Riverside Press-Enterprise
More than 80 youths are adopted in ceremonies
To mark National Adoption Month, 50 families in Riverside County adopted 82 children in a massive ceremony Nov. 5.
That number of adoptions at a single event was historic, a county news release states.
The county typically sees 300 to 700 adoptions a year, according to the release.
The adoptions came at the 14th annual Adoption Finalization Day. Two events were staged in Indio and Riverside by the Children’s Services Division of the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services and Riverside County Superior Court.
“This year, we celebrate a substantial number of children and families as we share the adoption process with every one of these families,” the Juvenile Court’s Presiding Judge Mark Petersen said in the release.
The ceremonies were watched by social service professionals, court employees, civic leaders, faithbased partners and volunteers, the release states.
At the Riverside Historic Courthouse, 18-year-old Jesus Negrete was adopted by Brian and Chandra Concannon, a Riverside couple in their 60s.
“When I was younger, I always wanted to be adopted but as I grew older, I gave up on that dream,” Jesus Negrete said in the release. “But when I met my parents, they reminded me of everything I wanted in a family, everything I dreamed of as a child, and they opened that door up for me again.”
In Indio, siblings Evolet, 9; Izabella, 7; Quetzaly, 6;
Ahura, 5; Lucy, 3; and new parents Sofia Rivera and Miguel Angel Avena of Cathedral City visited the Larson Justice Center to officially become a family.
“I’m happy to be getting my parents today,” Evolet said in the release.
For information on fostering or adoption in Riverside County, call 800-665KIDS (5437) or go to heartgalleryriverside.org.