The Symons Hall family after finalizing their adoptions at the Duval County Courthouse on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Chanel Martin, chanel.martin@fssnf.org)

Embracing the spirit of fresh starts that spring brings, Family Support Services and our community partners celebrated the finalization of 18 adoptions on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville. The FSS Adoptions team provided candy gold coins for the newly-adopted children, and a leprechaun character from First Coast Guardian ad Litem joined in the first family photos along with Circuit Court Dependency Judges Collins Cooper and Michael Kalil. Click here to see photos from the celebration.

One of the families, the now party-of-eight Symons Hall family, welcomed five siblings ranging from 1-year-old to tweenager to their family mix. They hope that sharing their story will encourage other families to open their hearts and their homes to children in foster care, looking for permanency through adoption. Click here or the image below to watch the heartwarming coverage from PositivelyJax:

Making the day extra special was the fact that several sibling groups were adopted together, something FSS and their partner agencies hope to highlight in the First Coast community. “We struggle to find foster parents willing to support sibling groups, meaning brothers and sisters can be separated into more than one home during temporary care,” says Jodi Pliska, Adoption Manager at Family Support Services, making it more difficult on children emotionally but also in trying to find a single family to bring siblings back together if the siblings do become open to adoption later on.

“Sibling relationships are the longest lasting relationships we have, and it is vital to find First Coast families who can meet the needs of all children,” Pliska adds. “FSS strives to preserve sibling relationships and we need supportive families to make this possible.”

To learn more about adoption from foster care, click here.

Learn more about foster care and how you can impact a child’s life with FSS here or our Facebook page.