Media Advisory:
Circuit courts in Maryland prepare for virtual adoptions as part of National Adoption Day

In recognition of National Adoption Day on Nov. 21, Maryland circuit courts will hold remote adoption proceedings and family celebrations. National Adoption Day honors adoptive families and draws attention to the need for permanent, loving families for children in foster care. Each year, the Judiciary invites members of the media to attend these proceedings in person, however, new this year, all events will take place virtually in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The media is invited to watch National Adoption Day activities in November at the following circuit courts via Zoom for Government:

Montgomery County
The judges of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County will preside over the adoptions of seven children on Friday, Nov. 20, at 4 p.m. The ceremony will be held virtually over Zoom for Government and will feature guest speakers and heartwarming stories of many people touched by adoption. The court will also present the Starfish Award, which recognizes someone who has made significant contributions to the adoption community. If you are attending as a member of the media, please RSVP to the event by contacting Chanel Wainstein, Montgomery County Circuit Court Specialty Case Manager, at [email protected] or 240-777-9119. The link to the virtual event will be sent closer to the event date to media outlets that have RSVP’d.

Prince George’s County
Sheila R. Tillerson Adams, Chief and Administrative Judge of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County and the Seventh Judicial Circuit, along with Judges Beverly J. Woodard, who is an adoptive parent; Daneeka Varner Cotton, Family Coordinating Judge; Judy L. Woodall, Chair of National Adoption Day and also an adoptive parent, and Peter Killough, Juvenile Coordinating Judge will preside over “Telling the Story – From Foster Care to Adoption,” a National Adoption Day celebration, on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 10 a.m. at the Prince George’s County Circuit Court. Magistrates Althea Stewart-Jones and Kristin Hileman-Adams will also participate in this year’s celebration. The ceremony will recognize new adoptive families and feature a guest speaker who is an adoptive parent and who has served as a foster parent for the past 31 years. If you are attending as a member of the media, please RSVP to the event by contacting the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County at 301-952-3814. The link to the virtual event will be sent to media outlets that have RSVP’d.

###