PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — One of the happiest days you’ll see in a courtroom is Adoption Day. Three big adoption events are happening this month in the Bay Area with 60 foster kids going home to their forever families.
Pasco County's Adoption Day was a day full of life-changing moments for 16 kids.
It may be one of the only times in a courtroom, where dancing with a judge is permitted, getting beads around the neck is the norm, and smiles are all you’ll see.
One of the biggest smiles in the Courtroom belonged to 12-year-old Tatianna who was getting adopted by her aunt.
Just over a year ago before Tatianna came to live with her aunt MaryAnne Benedict, Tatianna was in bad shape. She was in and out of foster homes, extremely skinny, and heavily medicated because of her special needs and past abuse.
"It’s amazing the transformation in just 13 months," said Benedict.
Benedict is also a survivor of childhood abuse and wants to help her Tatianna heal.
"I became not just her aunt but her advocate, and now I’m becoming her mother," said Benedict.
Tatianna’s adoption moment was one of the happiest of her life.
"I’m not going to be able to get taken away," said Tatianna.
She is excited to no longer have to go from foster home to foster home. Now Tatianna can be part of a new family who will love and care for her.
"This goes down to the deepest bedrock of our being, is that I’m loved and I’m enough," said Tatianna's therapist, Dinah Metcalf.
"I’m in my forever home and I’m part of a family," said Tatianna.
If you're interested in learning more about how you can foster or adopt kids who need loving homes, visit eckerd.org.
