The St. Johns County Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller’s office will celebrate St. Johns County National Adoption Day with a special ceremony on November 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Court Annex located in the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center in St. Augustine. Eight children will be adopted that day by four local families. 

“This event is one of the best days of the year for our office,” said Clerk of Courts and County Comptroller, Brandon J. Patty. “The adoption process is a long journey for both the children and parents. We are honored to play in a role in this process and to commemorate this joyous occasion with the families.”

St. Johns County Adoption Day is a culmination of the adoption process and helps finalize and celebrate adoptions from foster care with local families. Our office’s Family Law Clerks support the court proceedings that help many Florida families grow. This will be the first St. Johns County National Adoption Day since 2019. 

This event is an opportunity for the local community to celebrate the new families brought together on Adoption Day. Family Court proceedings can often be contemptuous, but our local judges say St. Johns County Adoption Day brings them joy. Last year, 60 children were adopted in St. Johns County. So far this year, 44 adoptions have been filed in St. Johns County. The clerk’s office is collaborating with the Family Integrity Program, Department of Children and Families, St. Johns County Government and the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida to hold the ceremony.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month across the United States. While the main point of National Adoption Day is to finalize adoptions, it is also a day of celebration. It is a celebration for those children who have found their forever families and for the parents who have made it through the long adoption process.

For more information, please watch the St. Johns County Adoption Day video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTzdALDsr60 .