Eleven children will find permanent homes with loving parents at Friday’s National Adoption Day ceremony at Daley Center
Released On 11/14/2023
Eleven children, including two sets of siblings and two teenagers, will be joined to loving families on Friday at a National Adoption Day ceremony at the Daley Center courthouse, said Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans.
In a special ceremony, the Hon. Maureen Ward Kirby, Acting Presiding Judge of the County Division, and the Hon. Mary S. Trew, the Hon. Araceli R. De La Cruz and the Hon. Viviana Martinez will preside over the adoptions of children by families who have agreed to share their stories with the public to help bring awareness to the thousands of children in Illinois waiting for their permanent homes.
The ceremony, which is open to media, will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 17 in Courtroom 1703 in the Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St.
“Adoption is a way to make children feel safe, secure and happy in ‘forever homes,’” said Judge Evans. “We hope our annual ceremony will encourage more adoptions in Cook County, so that more children can be blessed with this special bond.”
Judge Ward Kirby thanked the agencies, adoptive families and counsel that made “this special day possible.”
“During this month of Thanksgiving, the judges of the County Division are honored to raise awareness of children in need of adoption and to specifically celebrate National Adoption Day to recognize the incredible people who have opened up their hearts and homes to create forever families for these deserving children,” said Ward Kirby.
The ceremony will include five siblings from a single family, ages four through nine, who are being adopted by their grandmother and great aunt. Another set of siblings, a teenage brother and his 9-year-old sister, will be adopted by a married couple. Another teenager will be adopted by his grandfather.
Adoption attorneys say that older children and siblings are harder to place than individual babies, so it’s especially gratifying when these children find loving parents.
“Everybody always wants to adopt the cute little newborns,” said adoption attorney Genie Miller Gillespie, who worked with Marcus Boni and Anthony Truscello from Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood on their adoption of Joseph, 14, and his sister Francis, 9. “It’s nice when you can highlight a positive experience adopting older children.”
Of the group of five siblings, their grandmother is taking three, while their great aunt is taking two. The grandmother, Latonia Copeland, and the great aunt, Joy Copeland, are sisters who live near each other on the South Side. The children see each other every day, said Joy Copeland.
Latonia Copeland is adopting Deante’, 9; D’lyiha, 8; and Dmari, 4. Joy Copeland is adopting Devante, 6, and Damoni, 5.
The children’s mother agreed to the adoption. Joy Copeland said that when it became clear that the children needed a permanent home, she and her sister didn’t hesitate.
“We’re family, and we’ve been around them since they were born,” said Joy Copeland. She said the children’s great-grandmother, Diane Copeland, also lends a hand.
Boni said that he and his husband wanted to adopt older children because they felt they were best equipped to care for them, as opposed to infants. “It was healthy for us and our family dynamics,” Boni said.
They connected with Joseph and Francis through Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, a program through the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which helps find homes for children who may be harder to place, such as teens, kids with special needs, and siblings. The children’s parents had passed away, and they had been in foster care for more than four years.
“We were so blessed to meet them,” said Boni.
Boni said adoption professionals not only looked into what the prospective parents wanted, but what the kids wanted. “We’re a same-sex couple,” he said. “Not every kid wants two dads. Not every kid wants two white dads.” He said the adoption professionals made sure the arrangement worked for everybody.
Also being adopted on Friday is Jayden, 13. His adoptive parent, Michael Havansek, is his grandfather and has raised Jayden since he was born.
Other children being adopted in Friday’s ceremony are two three-year-olds and one four-year-old, each going to individual households.
Started by adoption agencies and children’s advocates, National Adoption Day is designed to raise awareness of the more than 113,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the U.S.
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