Essex County Families Will Celebrate 11 Adoptions At Annual Event

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Court administrators will celebrate the finalization of nearly a dozen new child adoptions in Essex County this week. It's welcome news in a state where adoptions are lagging, according to a recent study.

The Essex Vicinage said it will put a final stamp of approval on 11 adoptions on Friday, marking the momentous milestone with a special guest speaker, breakfast and other activities for the families.

Throughout the day, the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P), Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and the Junior League of Montclair-Newark will host a celebration at Rutgers Law School, where the families and their guests will be treated to lunch, games, gifts, activities, a photo-booth and music. Other activities will include crafting projects with students from Seton Hall University School of Law.

The event will include books, toys and gift cards for the children, and supermarket gift cards for the families, and the Essex County Surrogate’s Office will provide each family with bookbags.

For more information about becoming a licensed foster/adoptive parent in New Jersey, call 1-877-NJFOSTER or click here.

ADOPTION IN NEW JERSEY

This week’s Adoption Day event in Essex County will help to put a dent in a pressing need: New Jersey is the U.S. state with the third-lowest adoption rate, according to a study by public records database Radaris.

The study analyzed data from Children’s Bureau within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Children & Families to gather the number of children adopted in each U.S. state in 2021. The number was then compared to the population of each state to get the number of children adopted per 100,000 population.

There were 639 children adopted in New Jersey in 2021, a rate of 6.88 per 100,000 people. Only New York (5.67 per 100,000) and Maryland (3.57 per 100,000) had lower rates.

The highest adoption rates in the nation were seen in West Virginia (103.47 per 100,000), Alaska (46.22 per 100,000) and Oklahoma (37.73 per 100,000).

A spokesperson for Radaris said it’s possible that the states with high adoption rates have more effective adoption programs, supportive legal frameworks and a “strong community culture” that encourages and facilitates adoption.

“It’s also possible that these states have implemented initiatives to streamline the adoption process, making it more accessible and appealing to prospective adoptive parents,” researchers added.

• See Related: NJ Parents Recap Emotional Journey Into Adoption: ‘Love And Patience’
• See Related: Expanded NJ Law Allows Parents To Surrender Babies At Hospitals
• See related: Gay Couple's Heartwarming Adoption Story Highlights Critical Need

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