November is National Adoption Month. The N.C. Judicial Branch is proud to have a role in facilitating the uniting of children with forever families. Each year, during the weeks before Thanksgiving, courthouses across North Carolina open their doors to families waiting to have their adoptions finalized as part of National Adoption Day. Many of these children have been waiting for years in foster care to finally have a place to call home.

Since 2000, National Adoption Day has been celebrated on or near the Saturday before Thanksgiving and thanks to the efforts of judges and judicial officials, policymakers, advocates and practitioners, nearly 60,000 children have been adopted across the nation on National Adoption Day in the past 16 years.

"Adoption Day is a celebration about one of the best aspects of juvenile court: finding a forever family for children," said Mecklenburg County District Court Judge Louis A. Trosch, Jr. "Every child deserves a safe, loving and permanent home and this event enables us to honor those parents who make it happen for abused and neglected children. It is such a wonderful day for everyone involved, probably my favorite time to be a judge. Many people from numerous agencies come together to make a special celebration for everyone involved."

Over the last five years, an average of 3,200 adoptions have been finalized through North Carolina courts. This year, more than 4,500 adoptions are scheduled to be finalized at National Adoption Day events across our country. We hope you will join us to celebrate the North Carolina families who are celebrating this life-changing milestone.

Scheduled events by county:

• Friday, Nov. 4 - Gaston County Courthouse, 2nd Floor, Harley B. Gaston Public Forum Room, 11:00 a.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 5 - Catawba County at the Corinth Reformed Church in Hickory, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 6 - Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 9 - Vance County Courthouse, 3:00 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 10 - Bertie County - invitation only Adoption Banquet
• Thursday, Nov. 17 - Chowan County Courthouse, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 17 - Cumberland County, Adoption Conference at the Crown Complex, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 18 - Cleveland County Courthouse, Courtroom #4, 3:00 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 18 - Union County at The Bottle Factory in Monroe, 6:00 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 18 - Wake County Courthouse, 5:00 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 19 - Durham County at the Durham County Human Services Complex, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 19 - Mecklenburg County Courthouse, 9:00 a.m.

These events are planned and held at the local level through partnerships with Guardian ad Litem, judges, clerks of court, and other court agencies, partners, and community stakeholders.

This year, National Adoption Day is particularly focused on the more than 22,000 children each year who reach the age of 18 without ever finding forever families. That's 1 in 4 children from foster care who age out of the system with no place to call home, no family to support them, no table to join for Thanksgiving.