At last Tuesday’s meeting of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners the BOC proclaimed November “Adoption Month,” to coincide with the national observation.

District 4 Commissioner Lisa Cupid, bringing the proposal before the BOC, said,  “I have the opportunity today to recognize the excellent work of our Department of Family and Children Services here in Cobb in recognition of November being National Adoption Month. Even as I proceed to give this award, my heart is truly full as I had opportunity to speak with the director of the organization and learn about her heart towards our families and our children here. But also the need for us to have a well of support in Cobb County for our most vulnerable children who are in the foster care system.”

On hand to accept the proclamation were Lasondra Howard-Boddie, the Cobb County Director of DFCS, Everlean and Brandon Rutherford, parents who adopted two sons earlier this year, Danielle Farrelley, the Resource Development Supervisor for DFCS, and Carmen Nance, Cobb County DFCS Deputy Director.

Howard-Boddie said, “We as an organization are always looking for families to step up, to be that support system, for our kids. We have over 500 kids in the foster care system within Cobb County alone, and we only have 99 foster homes. So that means a lot more kids are placed outside of their community, outside of their network that they know.”

Brandon Rutherford talked about the experience he and his wife had in adopting two children. “I just wanted to say that we had the pleasure of fostering and adopting two precious little boys … earlier this year, in March, and it’s been an amazing opportunity to not only be a blessing in their lives, but we also have grown exponentially just through our capacity to love and our capacity to be able to care for children and care for people through this whole process. We had amazing support from Cobb DFCS, and they’re actually an extension of our family,” he said.

Text of National Adoption Month Proclamation

Cupid read the following proclamation:

Whereas Families have always stood at the center of our society, preserving good and worthy traditions from our past and entrusting those traditions to our children, our greatest hope for the future. At a time when many fear that the family is in decline, it is fitting that we give special recognition to those who are rebuilding families by promoting adoption; and

Whereas Cobb County recognizes the critical importance of helping children find permanent, safe and loving families through adoption. In Georgia, there are more than 14,400 children in the foster care system. Nationwide there are more than 123,000 foster children waiting for their “forever families”; and

Whereas November is recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month. While all adoption-related issues are important, the focus of this month is the adoption of children currently in foster care. An adoption provides a child with a lifelong positive connection – one of life’s greatest gifts; and

Whereas The month also includes National Adoption Day, traditionally a Saturday, which is observed in courthouses across the nation, where thousands of adoptions are finalized simultaneously; and

Whereas Adoption provides a unique experience that positively impacts children and enriches the lives of adoptive families. Last but not least, let us pay tribute to those special families who have opened their homes and their hearts to adopted children, forming bonds that we call family; now

Therefore We, the Cobb County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim November as National Adoption Month. In doing so we urge all citizens in the national effort to raise awareness of the importance of adoption for foster children and all children needing safe, loving families.

Presented this 13th day of November, 2018.

The proclamation passed 4-0 with `District 3 Commissioner Bob Ott absent from the meeting.