Jeffco children find forever homes

The holidays are a time for bringing families together.

And for 22 families in Jeffco, they celebrated the seasonal reunion early during National Adoption Day through Jefferson County Human Services.

Twenty-nine children found permanent homes with their longtime committed foster parents on Saturday, Nov. 22.

“Today we don’t make families, we recognize families,” said Justice Brian Boatright of the Colorado Supreme Court. “Adoption isn’t an event, adoption is a promise that is acted out over a lifetime.”

National Adoption Day started in 2000 when hundreds of children were adopted on a single day which brought awareness to children in need in foster care. Since that time, National Adoption Day has had more than 40,000 children who have been adopted on this special day.

Chris and Trivinia Barber who have two biological children and one adoptive child; Miranda, 4 were present on Saturday to adopt Miranda’s sister, Elyse who is 22 months old.

“She (Elyse) has a great story in that addition to Miranda who she is placed with, she has three other siblings that are places in two other adoptive homes,” Trivinia Barber said. “Both of those families are really open to relationship so she gets to see all of her siblings and just really have a life-long relationship with them. It’s really important to us.”

The Barbers were influenced to adopt through their church which spotlighted the need for adoption of local children.

“I really wasn’t aware of how much need there really was for foster and adoptive kids just locally,” Chris Barber said.

The Barber’s church introduced the couple to Project 1.27, a local Christian foster care and adoption services program that helps to train and support foster and adoptive parents. The program has been connecting foster children with families for nearly 10 years after it was reported in Dec. 2004 that 875 children were legally available for adoption in the Colorado foster care system.

Christopher and Noel Mink, along with their children; Lexi, 6, and Jerimiah, 9, spoke about their experiences as being an adoptive family to a large crowd of eager parents and children before their official courtroom appearance.

The Mink’s created the 10 B’s of Adoption to help adoptive families through the positive and often trying times of making a family whole.

“Jerimiah wrote No. 8, he said it’s OK to be happy and to be sad,” Noel Mink said. “He said being in a foster home is lonely but being adopted gives you people to play with. You might feel sad for other kids still in the foster home but you can be happy that you were adopted.”

“Yes, that is true.” Jerimiah said.

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