16 children find 'forever families' in Snohomish County after official adoption

EVERETT, Wash. -- It’s rare when people are happy to go to court.

But for 16 children in Snohomish County, they just could not wait to get in front of a judge.

Friday was National Adoption Day in Snohomish County and it’s a reminder that 100,000 foster children across the country are waiting for their forever families.



Q13 News met three separate families who went through the court process to adopt a child Friday.

More than two years ago, 11-year-old Easton had no permanent family.

Foster parents Phillip Doolittle and Christopher Youngman were willing to take a lifelong oath in front of a judge at Snohomish County Superior Court.
They never knew they could love a child so much.

“There is a lot of room in my heart, I guess, that I didn’t know that was there,” Doolittle said.

In another courtroom, two brothers -- Andrew and Alex--  are hugging and saying "I love you."

They are about to learn they will never be separated after the hardships they have been through.

“It was important to keep them together,” Mary Balzer said.

“These guys are really special,” Mitchell Balzer said.

Their aunt Mary and uncle Mitchell were officially becoming their parents.

Sixteen children in Snohomish County were officially getting adopted and no longer had to wait.

“Everybody deserves to know that somebody loves them. We have a little girl who has a birth mom who loved her so much she was willing to give her up,” James Pope said.

James and Allison Pope are already parents to six children but they still found the room in their home and their hearts for baby Mia.

“I want her to know what a blessing she is for us and we feel like she is a gift,” James said.

They may not be related by blood but the bond is no less intense.

“You get so invested, so involved, that it naturally comes,” Christopher Youngman said.

Around 200 children in Snohomish County are legally separated from their biological parents and waiting to be adopted.