12 El Paso children adopted on “National Adoption Day”
November 18 is national adoption day. To celebrate, 12 El Paso children were officially welcomed into their new families at the county courthouse Saturday.
Children like 7-year-old Ariyah. The Smith family says she has been in the foster care system for about 4 years. After fostering her for 6 months, they officially adopted her.
The family adopted a second child, Cameron, a few weeks ago. Parents Stanley and Letisha already have two grown adult children, but say its their drive to help others that has brought them to this point.
“In short, if you have the ability to help and you don’t, you become part of the problem,” Stanley said. “If there are 100,000 foster kids across the country what’s wrong with us getting two? Somebody has to be able to do it. You should not allow the state to raise children until they’re 18 years old.”
Sylvia Pitcher, the adoption specialist for the Department of Family and Protective Services said there are over 112 kids seeking adoption in El Paso County. Forty-one of those kids have not been matched to a family.
If you’re interested in the adoption process, you can contact Sylvia Pitcher: 915- 521-3719.
