LT. GOVERNOR, DHS, JUDICIARY, COMMUNITY GROUPS HONOR FAMILIES ON 'NATIONAL ADOPTION DAY'

HONOLULU – Lt. Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr., Human Services Director Lillian Koller, Family Court Judges and nonprofit community groups today honored Hawai‘i’s adoptive families as part of “National Adoption Day” ceremonies held across the country.

On the steps of the Family Courthouse on Punchbowl Street, participants celebrated the finalization of adoptions for 16 children from Hawai‘i’s foster care system. Eleven families adopted these children in a first-ever mass adoption ceremony conducted by the State Judiciary. The celebration continued with entertainment, children’s activities, food, prizes and information on how to become an adoptive parent.

“Every child deserves a loving, permanent home,” Lt. Governor Aiona said. “Through coordinated and collaborative efforts, we are seeing more adoptive parents from across the state come forward to provide these children with safe and nourishing homes. Today we celebrate the efforts of everyone involved in improving the lives of these children.”

“I want to thank everyone involved with National Adoption Day, including the Family Court Judges who volunteered their time, our many community partners and our caseworkers at the Department of Human Services (DHS),” Director Koller said. “But most of all, I want to thank the adoptive families who stepped forward to provide loving homes. Everyone deserves a family for life, and these parents made the dreams of our foster children come true.”

In addition to Lt. Governor Aiona and Director Koller, National Adoption Day speakers included Family Court Judge Bode Uale, David Louis of Heart Gallery Hawai‘i and Kelly Rosati and Deeanna Wallace of HOPE INC. Heart Gallery Hawai‘i recruits adoptive parents by displaying portraits of foster children and youth whose parental rights have been terminated by the Family Court. HOPE INC is a faith-based adoption agency that specializes in finding permanent homes for harder-to-place foster children, including teenagers, siblings and those with special needs.

Other community partners include: Catholic Charities, Child and Family Services, EPIC `Ohana Conferencing, Foster Families Programs, Hawai’i Adoption and Permanency Alliance, Legal Aid Society of Hawai’i and Partners In Development Foundation.

National Adoption Day is a collective effort to raise awareness about America’s 114,000 children in foster care awaiting adoption. Each year, more than 20,000 foster youth across the country turn 18 and thus “age-out” of child welfare systems without being adopted. In Hawai‘i, more than 150 children and youth are currently available for adoption.

Governor Linda Lingle and Lt. Governor Aiona today declared November 17 as “Adoption Day” in Hawai‘i to coincide with National Adoption Day efforts, which are celebrated annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. This year’s theme is “Answering the Call: You Don’t Have to be Perfect to be a Perfect Parent.”

INCREASING ADOPTIONS FROM FOSTER CARE

DHS has substantially increased the number of children adopted from foster care in recent years by working closely with its community partners, the State Legislature, the Judiciary and the University of Hawai‘i. These efforts helped increase the number of adoptions from 263 in State Fiscal Year 2001 to 438 five years later.

Last November, DHS received a $498,000 incentive bonus from the federal government for increasing the number of adoptions from 354 in 2004 to 431 in 2005.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that DHS will receive a 2007 Adoption Excellence Award for “extraordinary contributions” in providing adoption and other permanency outcomes for children in foster care. The federal government will honor DHS and 14 awardees from other states at a Dec. 12 ceremony in Arlington, Virginia.

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For more information, contact:
Toni Schwartz
Department of Human Services
Phone: (808) 586-4882