The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) today announced that it is celebrating National Adoption Awareness Month to recognize all the families who have opened their hearts and homes by adopting a child who had been in foster care and to highlight the need for more families to consider this pathway of adoption.

“New York State is a resourceful state that is committed to advancing pathways to permanency for children and families,” said OCFS Commissioner Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden. “During Adoption Awareness Month, we highlight the community of caring individuals who have opened up their hearts and homes to children who deserve love, nurturing, stability, and a true sense of safety and belonging.”

New York State Director of State Operations Kathryn Garcia, who was adopted as a child, expressed her support for celebrating adoption. "My parents built a family that was unique,” Garcia said. “Of their five children, three of us were adopted. It made us stronger and changed all our lives for the better. When I think about my adoption and my family, one thing is clear: We need more families like mine. I’m grateful that as director of New York State Operations, I'm able to work with the Office of Children and Family Services to make sure other kids have the same chance to grow up in an amazing forever family that they deserve." 

In New York State, there are currently more than 3,200 children in foster care with a permanency goal of adoption, with approximately 655 of those children legally freed for adoption. According to the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there were nearly 109,000 children nationwide, as of September 30, 2022, waiting to be adopted who were at risk of aging out of foster care without permanency.

This year’s National Adoption Month theme is “Honoring Youth: Strengthening Pathways for Lasting Bonds.” The month includes recognition events throughout New York State, including adoption ceremonies at courthouses, public awareness and recruitment campaigns, and adoption information exchanges. Upcoming events include National Adoption Days today at the Ontario County Family Court and at the OnCenter in Syracuse for all counties in the Central New York region and an All4One Adoption Awareness Run this weekend hosted by the Children’s Home of Jefferson County.

Earlier in November, events included Adoption Month celebrations held at Kings County Family Court on Nov. 8 by the New York City Administration for Children’s Services and at Albany County Family Court on Nov. 13 by the Albany County Department for Children, Youth and Families. A virtual OCFS adoption exchange was held Nov. 13 in Buffalo. Another virtual adoption exchange hosted by OCFS will occur next month on Dec. 17 when approved adoptive families can receive information on children ready to be adopted.

Throughout the month, a video celebrating adoptive families is being shown at New York State Thruway rest areas and New York State Department of Motor Vehicles offices. Additonally, digital signage raising adoption awareness is on display at the Empire State Plaza concourse.

November 23 marks the 25^th anniversary of National Adoption Day, which celebrates the adoptions of children who have been in foster care. National Adoption Day, traditionally held on a Saturday, is observed in courthouses across the nation, where thousands of adoptions are finalized simultaneously.

OCFS Commissioner Dr. Harris-Madden said, “Under Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State has continued its investment in post-adoption services, including adoption subsidies and the expansion of Permanency Resource Centers (PRC). OCFS provides resources that anchor strong support systems for adoptive families, which are especially important to children who have faced difficult and traumatic experiences and deserve loving homes.”

PRCs provide support services to families who have finalized the adoption of a child and to kinship families with legal guardianship of a child. The New York State Enacted 2024-2025 Budget includes more than $10.5 million in funding to support 21 regional PRCs.

“Our support for adoptive and guardianship families does not end with the legal proceeding,” said Gail Geohagen-Pratt, OCFS deputy commissioner for the Division of Child Welfare and Community Services. “To promote stability and security for the family and each child, the Permanency Resource Centers are there to offer services and supports needed by adoptive families to ensure lifelong permanency and prevent post-adoptive and post-guardianship dissolutions or disruptions.”

Governor Hochul has ordered that state landmarks be illuminated in white Nov. 22, the evening prior to National Adoption Day, to highlight awareness of the importance of adoption in promoting stability for children in need of permanent families. The Governor also issued a proclamation declaring November as Adoption Awareness Month in New York State. “New York continues to work to find permanent family placement for every child and youth waiting to be adopted so they can grow up in a stable and healthy environment, and we celebrate adoptive families by giving thanks to the many caring and generous people who have made the wonderful lifetime commitment of adopting a child from foster care,” the proclamation says.

All New Yorkers can learn more about children waiting to be adopted by viewing photos and videotaped background stories on the New York State Adoption Album found on OCFS’s website. For more information on adoption and post-adoption support services in New York State, please visit the Adoption page on OCFS’s website.

The buildings and landmarks being lit the evening of Nov. 22 for Adoption Awareness Month are:

• Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• Kosciuszko Bridge
• The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• State Education Building
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Empire State Plaza
• State Fairgrounds – Main Gate & Expo Center
• Niagara Falls
• The “Franklin D. Roosevelt” Mid-Hudson Bridge
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• MTA LIRR - East End Gateway at Penn Station
• Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
• Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park

About the New York State Office of Children and Family Services
The Office of Children and Family Services serves New York's public by promoting the safety, permanency and well-being of children, families and communities. The agency provides a system of family support, juvenile justice, youth development, child care and child welfare services and is responsible for programs and services involving foster care, adoption and adoption assistance, child protective services, preventive services for children and families, and protective programs for vulnerable adults.

###