Throughout the state, 136 foster children were adopted and an estimated 4,500 were formally welcomed into adoptive families in 400 cities across the U.S. Watch video
SPRINGFIELD - Twenty-two children from infants to adolescents were formally welcomed into their "forever families" during a National Adoption Day ceremony in Hampden Juvenile Court on Friday.
One included Sebastian Carter-Meo, just shy of 2, who was adopted by Amy Meo and Suzanne Carter, of Holyoke.
Carter-Meo, spiffed up in a dress shirt and vest, seemed unfazed by the hundreds of families, supporters, court staff and social service workers milling around him at the courthouse on State Street.
Meo and Carter, who also have a biological daughter, Ava, 7, whom Meo gave birth to, said they were intent on adopting another child through the state Department of Children and Families (DCF).
"We had a lot of (proposed) matches that did not work out," Meo said, while the two were participants in the Foster-to-Adopt Program.
"Just when we were about to give up, we found Sebastian," Carter said, adding that Ava also had waited a long time for a sibling and is up for the toddler's rough-housing.
Seven justices presided over the ceremony in Springfield, plus DCF Commissioner Olga I. Roche and Chief Justice of the Trial Court Paula M. Carey.
"People want to do good in the world, and you all have actually done it - and you've done it in a really, really big way. I am in awe of your generosity and your big hearts," Carey said.
Throughout the state, 136 foster children were adopted and an estimated 4,500 were formally welcomed into adoptive families in 400 cities across the U.S. Friday, the 13th Annual National Adoption Day.
Many were previously abused or neglected, officials at the ceremony in this city noted.
Adoption worker Toni Curto, who matched Sebastian with his new parents, agreed that Meo and Carter had suffered from previous disappointments and unkept promises during the court process. However, Sebastian's biological mother surrendered parental rights fairly quickly with the caveat that she could have limited visitation with the boy.
Most contemporary adoptions through DCF are "open adoptions," in that biological parents are not wholly prohibited from keeping in touch with their children.
"They're a wonderful family and he's a wonderful kid," Curto said.