National Adoption Day

This article is dedicated to National Adoption Day, which was on November 23, 2024, and will be on November 22, 2025.

I spoke with CWBA attorney Sylvia Geiger.  She is appointed by the Court to serve as the Child’s Counsel for Youth (CFY) or Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) in tough cases. A GAL is appointed in dependency and neglect cases for children 11 and younger to represent a child’s best interest.  A CFY is appointed if the young person is 12 or older and provides direct representation to the young person- with a traditional client/attorney relationship- representing the young person’s position. 

Sylvia B. Geiger, GAL/CFY

Sylvia says National Adoption Day is a happy event in most Colorado courthouses. In Denver, it’s a celebration with cupcakes and gifts for the youth being adopted. She says National Adoption Day is a mix of emotions: happy and exciting, but also bittersweet. Children come from challenging situations where parents have died, gotten sick, or ended up in jail. Parents tried to turn things around but were unable to do so.

As a GAL/CFY in dependency in neglect cases, Sylvia’s role is to reunite children on her caseload with their parents, if safe to do so. By National Adoption Day, or any adoption hearing, it is often at the end of a difficult case.  She has been at heartbreaking termination hearings where parents are very emotional, as parents are met with the uncertainty if they will ever see their children again. 

In Sylvia’s experience, most adoption hearings are for younger children. In her advocacy, she is concerned that it can be more psychologically damaging to adopt an older child when the parents are still out there, but every case is unique.

For kids five and younger, there’s a faster timeline called Expedited Permanent Planning which mandates faster timelines in the court system.  The faster timeline is acknowledging that the early years can be critical for bonding, attachment and brain development. In Sylvia’s experience, most cases are open for around a year, although some cases close in a few months and others are open for many years.

Sylvia shares that one of the hardest things she sees in her practice is that a lot of people who can’t have children or don’t want to go through traditional routes try to foster children with the hopes to adopt.  Although there are times when foster parents will adopt a child, the main goal in a dependency and neglect case is to reunite children with their biological families, when it is safe to do so.  The role of a foster parent is to provide a safe and nurturing environment while families work on any safety issues, with foster parents supporting the goal of return home, when appropriate.   

Individuals or couples that are looking to a adopt or foster can go through a Child Placement Agency (CPA) or their local county’s foster care coordinator.   If the individual/couple is looking primarily to adopt, they need to be clear that they are not looking to foster but are ready to adopt a child who is legally available for adoption.  Also, if hopeful parents tell their Child Placement Agencies or their local county adoptive resource that they want to adopt a baby, they might be matched with a mother willing to give up her parental rights.

Sylvia also encourages hopeful parents to look at children 10 to 14 years old or older.  Many older kids want to be adopted and are looking for forever homes.  Family connections do not end at 18 and many teens want the family connection of an adoption. 

In Colorado, we’re fortunate to have the Office of the Child’s Representative and the Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel.  The state understands that both parents and children need legal representation, so they train attorneys who can be appointed by the Court, when needed. One of the positive things about the Child Welfare System in Colorado is that it works hard to keep families together whenever possible, only removing children in cases of abuse or serious endangerment. The key focus is keeping children and young people safe, whether they remain with their caregiver or are temporarily removed until the caregiver can mitigate the safety concerns. 

It’s inspiring to know that attorneys like Sylvia are committed to representing children’s best interest and youth in challenging and heartbreaking situations. This work is incredibly demanding for attorneys and caseworkers, and they deserve our gratitude and respect. 

The most common reasons children and young people enter foster care are physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence, and substance abuse. In Sylvia’s experience, there is a high turnover among caseworkers that work with families, as it can be a challenging role to work with families in crisis. 

On a brighter note, I had the opportunity to speak with Maria Brooks, an Allied Professional Member of the CWBA. She was adopted at the age of three and traveled from New York to Denver to meet her new parents.

Maria Brooks- Allied Professional Member of the CWBA

One of the few adoption memories Maria has is from the adoption ceremony in the judge’s chambers. After the papers were signed, she was able to choose something special from a variety of trinkets to commemorate the occasion. She picked a small golden football trophy, which might be why football became her favorite sport.

In addition to being a very enthusiastic Broncos fan, Maria was raised in a loving home. Several years ago, her grandmother encouraged her to return to New York to research her biological family tree. She saw photos of her parents, learned about their lives, and even visited the hospital where she was born, as well as the house she lived in before being adopted in Colorado. These are fond memories Maria holds close in her adult life.

It's lovely to hear Maria’s adoption story, and it's heartwarming to know that there are attorneys in Colorado like Sylvia who care about and work tirelessly to represent children in difficult to heartbreaking situations, who are willing to provide services that are emotionally and mentally taxing on many levels.

Let’s remember to celebrate National Adoption Day in Colorado, honoring the attorneys and caseworkers who work tirelessly within the system and the children whose lives they touch and who touch theirs.

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Arlene Cohen Miller is  is an A-V Rated Colorado Attorney, a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation, a Coach-Facilitator with Ingomu, a National Coaching Company, and the CEO of Jewel Consultancy where she offers coaching, mentoring, and soul readings. Arlene also has a Diploma in Transformational Holistic Counseling (Australia) and is a Certified Meditation Facilitator.  

As a Work-Life Harmony & Balance Coach, Arlene brings a wealth of training and experience to help you compassionately and wholeheartedly lead yourself and create the life that works and feels right for you, a life where you experience less stress and more patience, kindness, and peace; a life where you experience more contentment and joy.  Arlene facilitates virtual group coaching sessions to boost the confidence and self-esteem of corporate employees and university students as a coach-facilitator with Ingomu. She also offers Transformational Healing & Heart Alchemy Mentoring. 

Arlene is the recipient of the President’s Cup for lifetime service with the Commercial Law League of America, where she served in many leadership positions including Chair of the Creditors’ Rights Section, Chair of the Western Region, Arrangements Chair for the Western Meeting, and Board Representative for the Creditors’ Rights Section.