Middlesex Vicinage to Celebrate Adoption Day

The Middlesex Vicinage will celebrate National Adoption Day on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 201 of the Middlesex County Courthouse, 56 Paterson St., New Brunswick. 

The adoptive families, children and participants will be welcomed by attorney Jack Gillick. Assignment Judge Michael A. Toto and Presiding Family Division Judge Deborah Venezia will give remarks. Also scheduled to speak are state Sen. Joseph Vitale, Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak, and Laura Jamet, interim assistant commissioner of the state Department of Child Protection and Permanency. 

The ceremony can be viewed here.  https://www.njcourts.gov/public/channels  Formal adoption proceedings will then be conducted privately for seven children and their families this year.

National Adoption Day is an annual event in which courts and communities in all 50 states join to finalize thousands of adoptions and to celebrate families who adopt.  The event seeks to raise awareness of the need for adoptive homes and to show appreciation for caregivers who choose to adopt. The vicinage held its first adoption celebration in 2007.

The vicinage’s program is co-sponsored by the Middlesex County Surrogate’s Office, the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners, the Middlesex County Bar Foundation, and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Middlesex County.

Although individual adoption proceedings are closed to the public, arrangements can be made for reporters to interview willing families afterward. Contact Meghan Carney-Vilela at 732-645- 4300, ext. 88019 or meghan.carneyvilela@njcourts.gov for more information.