Families Celebrate Adoption Day at Brooklyn Family Court
Above: (Left) Photo of Kim Westbrooks and her newly-adopted son Xavier. (Right) Mayra Rivera, a Foundling foster parent, pictured with the four children she adopted (Shawn, Na Maya, William and Rosa).
Just a few days before National Adoption Day, two New York Foundling foster parents joined nearly 70 other families at the Kings County Family Courthouse to welcome new additions to their family and celebrate adoption.
All month long, New York City celebrates National Adoption Month with Adoption Day Celebrations in each borough and other activities hosted by the Administration for Children’s Services city wide.
The Brooklyn courthouse’s 6th floor was filled with families finalizing and celebrating the significant milestone. All joined together for breakfast and kids activities while they waited for their appointments with judges.
Kim Westbrooks, who has been fostering with The Foundling for 11 years, sat in the courthouse with Xavier, 1, on her knee, waiting to legalize his adoption. Kim adopted Xavier’s three other biological siblings before their birth mother, who was Kim’s close friend, passed away.
“I’m very happy,” Kim says with a smile, surrounded by relatives. “It’s always a happy day when you come and adopt them.”
Mayra Rivera was also at the courthouse finalizing a big adoption. As a foster parent with the Foundling, she took in a sibling group of four, and on this November day, she finalized the adoption of all four.
Westbrooks has found a lot of joy in being a foster parent, and encouraged others to consider it. “I tell everybody, if you want kids, go and help them,” she says of kids in care of agencies like The Foundling.
To learn more about becoming a foster parent or fostering-to-adopt with The Foundling, visit our Foster Parent webpage.
