National Adoption Day Sparks 3-Year-Old's Forever Family

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A 3-year-old and her mother made their adoption official Saturday on National Adoption Day, a day meant to raise awareness for children in foster care waiting for forever families.

The annual event is held the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Alona Curry made it official today with her mother, Debora, in front of family members at Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center in Dallas as a judge passed them their certificate of adoption.

"She was my child previously in my home and in my heart, but now it's legal," said Debora.

She took Alona in as a foster child as a 3-month-old.

This is Debora's third adoption, all of which were made official on National Adoption Day.

"So I wanted to give back to my community and I also wanted to build a family," said Debora. "This is a beautiful way to be able to do both."

Judge Mary Brown said roughly 10 to 15 kids would be adopted Saturday morning, all of whom were either neglected or abused.

"They're a very special kind of people who have huge hearts and really know what it means to make a family," said Brown.

About 750 children await their adoption in North Texas, according to Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

Since 2000 when the annual event started, more than 54,000 children have been moved from foster families to forever families.

Debora said if anyone is interested in fostering or adopting kids there is a lot of support available.