Dozens of Miami-Dade children find permanent home at National Adoption Day event
MIAMI - Several South Florida families will permanently be making extra room at their holiday tables this year.
They've officially added new family members on this National Adoption Day.
More than 30 children in Miami-Dade County were officially adopted Friday, including baby Tiana.
"She's baby No. 5 because me and my husband adopted siblings," said Tiana's mother, Rubie Delaughter King.
"We just want to keep the kids together," she said.
King and her husband Ronald are now a proud family of seven, with kids ranging in age from 6 years old to 9 months old.
"It's not easy. but it's rewarding," King said.
"All it takes is love, patience, kindness, and God."
Several judges were on hand at the Miami Children's Museum Friday signing off on the paperwork that would make these bonds official.
"It's such a pleasure to be part of a process that helps a loving family come together and they're legally together forever," said Judge Jason Emilios Dimitris.
"It's very humbling and it's a wonderful feeling to be part of something so special."
The goal of National Adoption Day is to put a spotlight on the children in foster care who are looking for permanent homes.
"Sometimes people think the kids need you, but in the process, you realize you need the kids as much as they need you," King said.
There are more than 1,000 children in the child welfare system in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
Of those, more than 50 are able to be adopted.