Courthouse celebrates Adoption Day

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An Adoption Day celebration was held at the Superior Court of San Benito County on Nov. 23.

“We’re really excited about this event,” Chief of Court Services for San Benito County Melinda Brazil said. “It’s there to remind everybody about how important adoption is.” 

Before the celebration, three separate hearings were held in the courthouse to formalize adoptions. Afterwards, families who had adopted over the last several years were invited to add a leaf to a tree with the child’s name and the adoption date.

Adoptive parent Maricela Chavez said that her family got a letter explaining that Superior Court was offering families who had recently adopted children a chance to add a leaf to the tree with their adoptive children’s names as “memorabilia” for those who had been adopted.

“The letter explained that they were going to put anybody that came in, the name the child that was adopted and make that memorabilia for people that were adopted.”

Brazil said that there have been only 67 adoptions in San Benito County in the last six years.  

There are two kinds of adoption: one for non-family members adopting a minor, and another for family members adopting a minor or for formalizing an adoption by someone who raised them such as a stepfather.

For minors, Brazil said, there is a formal investigation to ensure the parents are the best fit for the child. After that, if the investigation is successful, the court formalizes the adoption.

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