-- More than 30 adoptions will be finalized at the 21st Annual Adoption Day ceremony --    

The DC Superior Court and the DC Child and Family Services Agency will co-host the 21st Annual Adoption Day in Court on Saturday, November 17, 2007.  The ceremony is designed to celebrate the joy of adoption and encourage area residents to consider adopting or fostering a child.  Over 200 children in DC are in foster care, awaiting adoption. 
 
Over thirty actual adoptions will be finalized at this year’s ceremony and adoption decrees will be signed before the audience, as the children and their new families come forward.  Each child will be introduced to the audience by emcee Barbara Harrison, local news anchor.  Les Brown -- who was adopted as a child and who is now a prominent motivational speaker – and the celebrated poet and Virginia Tech professor Nikki Giovanni will both give remarks at the event. 
 
WHAT:  Adoption Day in Court Celebration  

WHERE: Moultrie Courthouse 3rd Floor Atrium - 500 Indiana Avenue, NW    

WHEN: Saturday, November 17, 2007 - 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon  

WHO:  Superior Court Chief Judge Rufus G. King, III  

Family Court Presiding Judge Anita Josey-Herring  

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton    

Mayor Adrian Fenty 
 
CAMERAS ARE ALLOWED IN TO THE COURTHOUSE FOR THIS EVENT AND THERE ARE NO RESTRICTIONS ON PHOTOGRAPHS OF FAMILIES AND CHILDREN. 
 
INTERVIEWS:  Several families will be available before, during and after the ceremony for press to interview.  All 234 children adopted in DC in the past year - and their families - have been invited to the ceremony and celebration.   In addition, judges will be available for interview, including several who are adoptive parents themselves, and one who was a foster child. 
 
[Note: Those interested in finding out more about becoming an adoptive or foster parent are urged to call (202) 671-LOVE, the CFSA adoption hotline.  CFSA volunteers will also be present at the event to talk about fostering and adopting in DC]