- A Leon County judge signed off on several adoptions in one day.
- About 19,000 children are in foster care in Florida.
- Watch the video to learn what the finalized papers mean to families who have spent months in the process.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A long time coming for a forever home.
Darla Gale Marsters, Parent - "Just been lots of hoops and ladders and stuff to go through, but all worth it, because today it was official."
I'm Kenya Cardonne in the Downtown Tallahassee neighborhood where several adoptions were finalized. I spoke with a few of the new families about what it means to be able to call themselves one officially.
It was an emotional day at the Leon County Courthouse, but the good kind.
Families who have spent months, years even, in the adoption process have officially crossed the finish line.
Families like the Hawkins!
More than a year after meeting these two munchkins, Darla Gale and Johnny are officially Mom and Dad to Arianna and Aaron.
Johnny Franklin Hawkins Jr., Parent - "It is so wonderful to know that the work we put in with these children over such a long amount of time has really started to pay off. Now we're really a family."
I got some one-on-one time with Arianna and Aaron.
Only eight and nine years old, they still remember what life was like before meeting their new parents.
Arianna Hawkins - "Yeah, it was very hard and very not nice."
They tell me they couldn't be happier to have found their forever home.
Hawkins - "I just wanted for us to have the same last name and that's what we're going to have!"
Another family that walked out of the courtroom with a new member is the Miller family.
Carie Miller, Parent - "I have been a pediatric nurse for 20 years and he's the first one to convince me to bring anyone home."
Carie Miller says she knew little Tyson was a Miller the moment she met him as an infant.
Miller - "He loves everyone. He loves all people. He knows no strangers and likes to play and have a good time all the time."
Getting that final signature from the judge means now, they can look forward to what life has in store for her family of seven.
Miller - "He has grown so much and he is going to be awesome. He's going to do big things. Right?
Tyson: Yes!"
Studies show that foster care children who age out of the system are at increased risk of poor education, unemployment and homelessness.
In Downtown Tallahassee, Kenya Cardonne ABC 27
