IDAHO FALLS — Bonneville County judges, court officials and Idaho legislative officials gathered with families Friday to celebrate those who adopt children and those who have gone through the adoption process.
Booths were set up in the hallway of the Bonneville County Courthouse filled with candy bars, teddy bears and children’s toys. Information on the process of becoming a foster family or adopting a child of one’s own was available.
Many speakers were on hand to talk to the audience about adoption, foster care and what it means to start a family.
The first speaker was District Judge Dane Watkins Jr., who told the crowd he was happy to see smiling faces in the courtroom.
“The things that bring us into those courtrooms are often the things that don’t bring joy, happiness, or smiles,” Watkins said. “And just walking into this courtroom today and seeing the displays outside and the things that are inside this courtroom brings a smile to all of us, and I can see it among you all. It’s a real delight. »
Watkins read a proclamation issued by Idaho Chief Justice Richard Beven of the Idaho Supreme Court that honors all those who help provide children with forever adoptive homes.
“The Idaho State Judiciary recognizes the positive impact of a safe home and loving family in a child’s life,” Watkins said. “By authority vested in me, I hereby honour, acknowledge and thank all individuals who dedicate their time, resources and efforts to supporting children in a loving and forever home.”
The next speaker was Katherine Hitch, a representative from Sen. Mike Crapo’s office, who read a letter signed by both Crapo and Sen. Jim Risch.
“In an ideal world, no child would want a loving home and supportive parents. But as we all know, life is much more complicated,” Hitch said. “Adoption is a way to rewrite a less than ideal set of circumstances and provide opportunities for children and families to thrive.”
Camille Rigby of Fostering Idaho then spoke to the crowd about common misconceptions about fostering and adoption.
Rigby explained that you don’t have to own a house, have a certain income, be in a relationship, be a straight couple, or have a certain number of bedrooms in your house to be a parent. adoptive.
“We need more foster parents,” Rigby said. “We currently have 1,200 foster families in the state of Idaho, and we have over 1,500 foster children. In some areas we have children waiting in short-term rentals with their social workers before they can go to foster care.
The next speaker was Stacy McAlevy from the Judicial District 7 CASA program.
McAlevy spoke about the importance of advocating for children in the foster care system and what the public can do to support children in foster care.
“Last year, in our judicial district, we served 521 children. Of those 521 children, 46 were adopted and found permanency in safe and loving homes,” McAlevy said. “I encourage and appreciate our host families, without host families, our kids stay in Airbnbs, they stay in group homes.”
Magistrate Judge Wiley Dennert then took to the podium to speak about his own experience of adoption in the legal system.
“Adoptions are bittersweet. They’re bitter in the sense that there’s always a reason you’re there to end parental rights, and whatever that reason is, there’s a kind of backstory that’s often bitter,” said Dennert. “But the nice thing about adoption is that we’re trying to build families and give those kids some extra stability and love.”
Jacque Burt of The Village, a foster care organization in eastern Idaho, shared the story of her first adoption experience when she adopted her son 27 years ago.
Burt was living in Florida with her husband while he was stationed in Orlando, when her doctor told her that after having two children, she could no longer bear children due to health issues.
“We just naturally thought, we’ll adopt,” Burt said.
As they waited in the hall to interview to be the potential parents of a newborn baby, they spotted the baby in the arms of a woman in the hallway.
“You know that feeling when you’re cold, and you step into the shower and the hot water comes on? I felt ten times better,” Burt said. “I knew the second I knew was my child.”
The final speaker, as well as entertainment, was Idaho Rep. Marco Erickson, who spoke about his experience of not fitting in as a child, then sang an original song he wrote for commemorate the occasion.
“When I was a kid, I grew up in one of those really tough families,” Erickson said, through tears. “I spent many years working with extremely broken families, and I got to see these children who ended up in the system in different ways and for different reasons.”
Erickson told the crowd that he wrote the song recently after being asked to speak at the event and after being inspired by the stories he learned throughout his years of working with artists. children in the foster system.
“I wrote this song from a child’s perspective,” Erickson said. “A kid who goes through the system and goes through these things.”
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