11 Children Adopted by North Dakota Families on National Adoption Day

BISMARCK, N.D. (KUR) – In honor of National Adoption Day, eight North Dakota families and 11 children completed adoptions at the Morton County Courthouse, marking the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.

Since the celebration began in 2000, more than 85,000 children have been adopted in the United States on National Adoption Day.

These families went through Catholic Charities of North Dakota’s AASK program, which stands for Adults Adopting Special Children, to formally accept their adoptive parents into a permanent home.

“The requirements to adopt through our program are that you have to pass a background check, be home trained through our program and really just demonstrate that you are able to provide for the needs of the children that you hope to adopt,” Maria Huizenga said , Lead Adoption Specialist for Catholic Charities of North Dakota.

One of these families will be Nathan and Kathy Bush, who fell in love with Cameron’s goofy personality when he was placed in their home.

“Cameron has many special needs, but we are willing and ready to take on this challenge,” Katie said.

Catholic Charities North Dakota workers like Huizenga work tirelessly to give children like Cameron a chance to find a place to call home.

“Many of the children who are graduating here today have been in foster care for several years, and so the fact that we can witness them finding permanency today is something we do not take lightly.” Huizenga said.

For the first time, National Adoption Day in North Dakota was held in three locations: Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks.

A total of 33 children and 18 families completed the adoption process in North Dakota on National Adoption Day.

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