By Jake Stark
Murphy News Service
Dozens of Minneapolis families gathered at the Minneapolis Juvenile Justice Center on Nov. 22 to welcome new children into their homes – permanently.
In honor of National Adoption Day, 41 Minneapolis teens and children appeared before a district court judge to finalize their adoption process. Although many of the teens and children already lived with foster families, Saturday marked the official end of the legal adoption process.
Melvin and Gloria Abbott, of Minneapolis, attended the hearings to officially welcome their new 1-year-old son, Max, into their family. Max has lived with the Abbotts since he was two weeks old as part of a foster program, but the Abbotts decided they wanted to give Max a stable home.
“We just didn’t want to see him go through the foster cycle all over again,” said Gloria. “We wanted him to have his own home.”
Although the Abbotts have two grown children of their own, they said they’re thrilled to provide a new home to a child in need.
“This feels good, it feels really good,” Gloria Abbot said. “Now we can move forward and [Max] can move forward too.”
Unlike Max, most children in need of adoption are older children and teenagers., or groups of brothers and sisters.
Jeff Pharrell and his wife, Nancy, adopted a group of three brothers and sisters on Saturday: 12-year-old Jasmine, 9-year-old Matt, and 7-month-old Abigail. Although they initially planned on only adopting Matt, the Pharrells said they saw the important of keeping the siblings together.
“We fell in love with these kids,” said Jeff Pharrell. “After we met them, Nancy and I looked at each other and said ‘these are our kids’.”
Hennepin County expects the number of adopted children to double this year due to a new Minnesota law taking effect Jan. 1. The new law will standardize how adoptive families are reimbursed for vital services such as medical care and therapy.
The law is also expected to lead to an increase in the adoption of teenagers because they will benefit from funding increases under the new law.
For all of the families who participated in National Adoption Day, it was a time of relief and celebration.
“This has been seven-year process,” said Jeff Pharrell. “It’s been a long-time coming and we’re relieved to see it end.”
Reporter Jake Stark writes for the Murphy News Service