25 Years of Tradition—Court Adoption and Permanency Month
This November, the public will witness happy tears, cheers, and beaming smiles from children and parents of newly formed or reunited families in California courtrooms as the state recognizes Court Adoption and Permanency Month. During this annual event, courts throughout the state will open their doors to finalize and celebrate adoptions from foster care.
Kicking off Court Adoption and Permanency Month
The Judicial Council first declared November to be Court Adoption and Permanency Month in 1999. Per tradition, Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero again signed a resolution, officially kicking off the celebration.
“In the child welfare system, permanency is the goal of establishing a stable, permanent living situation for a child,” said Judge Monica Wiley, who supervised the San Francisco Unified Family Court. “The juvenile court process aims to achieve this goal by placing a child in a loving, committed relationship that will last a lifetime. For judicial officers, the ability to be an important part of creating a forever family can be one of the highlights of our careers.”
For this 25th anniversary, the Judicial Council is highlighting the importance of permanency for older youth, as only 20% of youth aged 16 to 17 exited to permanency within a year in 2023.
Courts statewide will also be coordinating with county social service agencies, local nonprofit agencies, and other service organizations to organize celebratory events throughout November:
Collaborative Efforts in Improving Adoption and Permanency
The Judicial Council has been teaming up with the superior courts and partners in child welfare to improve permanency for the last 25 years. Collaborative efforts include:
- A focus by the juvenile court bench on timeliness of case processes leading to permanent homes for children in foster care
- Extensive education, technical assistance, and engagement of the Judicial Council Tribal Court–State Court Forum on the implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act
- Support and oversight of the 11,000 active court-appointed special advocates (CASAs) providing volunteer services to 13,000 children and youth statewide, including administering the Legislature’s $60 million CASA Expansion Program
- Expansion of resources for court-appointed counsel for children in foster care and their parents, including accessing $66 million in federal funding to supplement the $187 million provided through the state budget
Positive Progress in California
According to the data provided by University of California, Berkeley’s California Child Welfare Indicators Project, more than 400,000 children are involved in abuse and neglect reports each year. The below table shows an improvement for the past 25 years in ensuring children live in safe and permanent homes:
| Data from 1999 | Data from 2023 | Percentage Change | |
| Number of children entering foster care for the first time | 28,500 | 14,000 | -51% |
| Number of children living apart from their families in child welfare-supervised, out-of-home care | 105,406 | 44,000 | -58% |
Judge Roger Chan, who supervises and presides over the San Francisco Juvenile Court, expressed that California can further improve its adoption and permanency effort by encouraging relatives to get involved early. “California needs more families to open their homes to children who cannot be returned to their parents. These families need to receive sufficient support to meet the needs of children who have experienced trauma.”
Judge Chan also believes less people are drawn to social work and behavioral healthcare. “There is an extreme shortage of social workers and clinicians working in the public and nonprofit agencies. The foster care system has long been overburdened, including judicial and legal resources. We must continue to collectively prioritize these young people and give them the best that we have to offer.”
About National Adoption Day
National Adoption Day is a collective, grassroots effort to raise awareness of the more than 108,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States. A coalition of national partners—the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Alliance for Children’s Rights and Children’s Action Network—launched National Adoption Day in 1999.
National Adoption Day has recognized more than 85,000 children moving from foster care to a permanent family.
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