21 Harris County children find their forever homes in mass adoption ceremony

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Twenty-one children in Harris County were placed in their forever homes Friday, as part of National Adoption Day.

It's one of the largest Houston-based events dedicated to celebrating adoptions and highlighting the need for adoptive families in the area.

After a few formalities and questions, it was official. Three-year-old Aaron will stay with the family he's been with since he was a day old.

"I'm very happy because I love my family," adoptive father Robert Orlando Martinez Hernandez said.

And it's clear little Aaron loves his adopted father, mother, and sister. He was handsome and in great spirits as their turn was called. It's a moment that never gets old for Judge Katrina Griffith.

"The kids get up there, they have these big smiles on their faces," Griffith said. "They're dressed up, a lot of them will come in with matching outfits. It's a very emotional day. It's a very happy day for people to move forward with their lives."

Friday's event is a push Harris County has been making for years to unite more families like Aaron's, Shawntia Blutte, and 2-year-old Kyla, for good.

Blutte encourages anyone on the fence to take a leap and give foster kids what they want and ultimately need.

"So they can feel loved, so they don't have to bounce around from foster mom to foster mom," Blutte said with tears in her eyes. "They have a place they can call home and never have to leave again."

In the greater Houston area, there are currently 570 children waiting to find permanent adoptive homes. It's a little bit harder for older children. Of the children available for adoption statewide, more than half are older children and teens ages 10-17.

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