More than 130 children were adopted in Los Angeles County on Saturday morning as part of a number of adoption ceremonies held across the country.
The event commemorating National Adoption Day was started by a coalition of organizations to raise awareness about the tens of thousands of children awaiting adoption from foster care in the United States.
Saturday’s adoption proceedings at Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court in Monterey Park were performed in person and virtually by officials with Los Angeles County, and pro-bono attorneys from Public Counsel and the Alliance for Children’s Rights, groups that advocate for youth and provide legal services.
“Adoption provides children with the love and permanency they deserve and enriches the lives of the adoptive families who are fortunate to welcome them,” said Akemi Arakaki, juvenile presiding judge at Edelman Children’s Court.
lison Canetty of Torrance celebrated the adoption of her 2-year-old son, Pierce. Canetty has raised Pierce since he was 2 days old, along with the boy’s biological sister, Ellie, who is 3.
Canetty, who is raising the siblings and four other children on her own, has been a foster parent since 2016. She plans to open an agency to help children in the foster care system.
