Passaic Vicinage to Celebrate National Adoption Day

The Passaic Vicinage will celebrate National Adoption Day on Friday, Nov. 22.

Superior Court Judge Marybel Mercado-Ramirez will preside over five adoptions. Superior Court Judge Daniel Yablonsky will give opening remarks prior to the adoption proceedings. Light refreshments will be served throughout the morning in the Passaic County Administration Building, 401 Grand St., Paterson from 9 a.m. to noon for all families in Passaic County who adopted children this year.

Children adopted on Adoption Day will receive a personalized gift donated by Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Passaic and Union Counties.

A reception hosted by the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P) for families in the county who adopted children in 2024 will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Cinemark Theater in Wayne. Each child in attendance will receive a gift provided by DCP&P, the Passaic County Surrogate's Office, the Passaic County Clerk's Office, the Passaic County Bar Association, CASA, and local attorneys.

National Adoption Day is an annual event in which courts and communities in all 50 states come together to finalize thousands of adoptions and to celebrate families who choose to adopt. The vicinage established its adoption celebration in 2007.

Although adoption proceedings are closed to the public, reporters and photographers are invited to attend the celebration event at Cinemark, where families who have agreed to be interviewed or photographed will be available. For more information, contact Assistant Family Division Manager Bonnie Belin at 973-653-2910, ext. 24588.