Jeffrey Kennedy, left, and Angela Craig-Kennedy, center, help their newly adopted son Tristen Kennedy sign on documents Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.
Mathew York, right, and Katie York, center-left, watch as their newly adopted son Richard York high-fives Judge Toynbee Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.
The Legg Family came in full force to support their newly adopted family members Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.
From left to right, Bethany Pinard, David Pinard, and their newly adopted son Koda Pinard raise their hands to be sworn in Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.
Wendy showed up to meet the newly adopted children Friday afternoon at the Lewis County Courthouse in Chehalis.
Jeffrey Kennedy, center-left, Angela Craig-Kennedy, center-right, watch as their newly adopted son Tristen Kennedy high-fives Judge Toynbee Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.
Dana Kennedy, center-left, pushes her plate out of the reach of her newly adopted brother Tristen Kennedy Friday afternoon at the Lewis County Courthouse in Chehalis.
From left to right, Bethany Pinard, David Pinard, and their newly adopted son Koda Pinard smile after signing documents Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.
The Legg Family came in full force to support their newly adopted family members Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.
Bethany Pinard, left, smiles as David Pinard, center, shakes the hand of Judge Toynbee while their newly adopted kid Koda Pinard talks into the mic Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.
Five families walked out of Lewis County Superior Court Friday afternoon a little larger.
It’s become tradition in Lewis County, and 24 others across the state, to celebrate National Adoption Day by inviting the public to watch adoptions be finalized — an event that’s almost always behind closed legal doors.
The courtroom was full and the faces were beaming as, with a raised right hand and then, with a few signatures, eight kids between the ages of 16 months and 8 years old became permanent members of the families who have fostered them.
The sights were a far cry from the formalities that normally take place in Superior Court’s Department 1 — the largest courtroom in the Law and Justice Center, where witnesses take to the stand and reveal somber details of a crime or divulge bitter testimony in a contentious civil dispute.
“Usually this courtroom isn’t full of people here to celebrate such a joyous occasion. People come to courtrooms to resolve disputes, and it’s an honor to have this courtroom so full of people who are here to share this joyous occasion and to share with one another in bringing families together and forming these forever families,” said Judge Andrew Toynbee, addressing the large crowd.
Attorney Mareen Bartlett represented each of the families Friday, and recited with each the legal ramifications of what was going to take place — that the kids would be “just as though (he or she) were born to you, through age 18 and beyond.”
“We had this little guy since he was three weeks old, and it’s been a long two years. Didn’t come into it with the idea of adoption — trying to protect our hearts, but we couldn’t imagine life without him at all,” said Katie York, as she and her husband Matthew finalized the adoption of their 2-year-old son Richard.
Richard, an aficionado of Spider-Man and loud toys, maintained a relatively somber demeanor throughout the proceeding, which only took a few minutes per family. But he cracked a smile and clapped along with the crowd when they broke into applause after the matter was finalized.
In Washington, 1,930 foster children are legally free to join new families. Across the state Friday, it was expected that 200 would be adopted in celebration of National Adoption Day, according to stats from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). Lewis County was one of 25 counties to participate.
The day was founded in 2000, when a contingent of public and private-sector entities gathered to draw attention to the needs of kids in the foster system.
Since then, DCYF has put new emphasis on giving children some agency in the adoption process. Older kids, through a DCYF reverse match program, can see potential adopting families’ information and express interest in meeting them.
Northwest Adoption Exchange helps older children produce their own videos, podcasts and online profiles to introduce themselves to potential adopting parents, according to a DCYF press release.
Four-year-old Koda was a ball of energy Friday, grabbing a microphone attached to a table and voicing his opinion on the proceedings, which mostly seemed to consist of the word “microphone.”
His parents, David and Bethany Pinard, had been his foster parents for about six months. They went into foster care with the intention of adopting.
“We saw his picture and loved it,” said Bethany, during a reception hosted inside the Law and Justice Center. Everyone congregated in a first-floor room after the legal matters were out of the way.
Streamers hung from the ceiling, and a table was adorned with pizza and sandwiches. Another table held colorful backpacks and teddy bears to be given out later.
“It’s been a long time coming, so we’re just very excited to have (Koda) in our lives forever,” said Bethany.
