Celebrating Forever Families Across the State

Courtrooms across the state will take on a new role throughout November—as places of joy, connection, and new beginnings. To celebrate Court Adoption and Permanency Month, they’ll welcome children and families with food, face painting, action figures, family-centered activities, and other festive touches.

Court Adoption and Permanency Month
The Judicial Council has declared November to be Court Adoption and Permanency Month. As chair of the council, Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero signed a resolution to officially launch the celebration. Many individual California courts have dedicated specific adoption days in November, including Adoption Fridays and Adoption Saturdays, as well as other events to ensure that adoptions are completed and finalized in a timely manner. This year, the Judicial Council is highlighting the importance of kinship care, as children with a first placement with relatives or extended family members are three times as likely to remain in that first placement after 12 months.

“As a judicial officer, Court Adoption and Permanency Month is an opportunity to celebrate caregivers who have committed to loving and caring for children who were unable to return to their parents,” said Justice Tari Cody, co-chair of the council’s Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee. “It takes a village to find a child a permanent home and provide a safe supportive environment.”

This Year's Local Court Adoption Events
Courts will coordinate with county social service agencies, local nonprofit agencies, and other service organizations to organize the following celebratory events:
 

Judicial Council Supports Adoption and Permanency for California’s Youth
The council first declared November to be Court Adoption and Permanency Month in California in 1999. Since that first observance, the council has demonstrated its commitment to support the juvenile courts and their local justice partners by promoting procedures and collaborative practices that lead to timely case resolution and permanency for children and youth in foster care. Permanency is a child’s exit from foster care and safe return to the family home (reunification), adoption, or legal guardianship.