​Judge John Bowman serves as a circuit judge in the state of Florida. After noting several failures and inefficiencies in Florida’s juvenile detention and foster care systems, Judge John Bowman initiated several programs to help improve care for Florida’s youth. One such program is National Adoption Day, which he brought to Broward and other Florida counties.

National Adoption Day raises awareness of the many children in the American foster care system who need loving, permanent homes. More than 100,000 children across the country are waiting to be adopted. National Adoption Day helps make their dreams come true.

Responding to overwhelming need, lawmakers, advocates, and charities came together to create the holiday in 2000. Communities celebrate the special nature of adoption together through fundraisers, letter-writing drives, and public awareness campaigns. The festivities culminate in the finalization of many adoptions all over the country.

National Adoption Day is celebrated the Saturday before Thanksgiving each year. The 2015 event helped more than 4,000 children find homes, bringing the total number of adoptions to more than 58,500 since National Adoption Day was founded.

In 2016, the annual event will be held on November 19. People who wish to support National Adoption Day can get involved online at www.nationaladoptionday.org/get-involved.                             

​Judge John Bowman is a circuit judge and an advocate for underserved children in Florida. He works especially hard to support children in Florida’s foster care system. Early in his career, Judge John Bowman helped 145 orphaned young people find homes.

In the state of Florida, people who would like to adopt a foster child work through ChildNet, the state child welfare agency. Interested individuals and couples can attend open-house orientation sessions, held on the third Thursday of each month in Fort Lauderdale and the third Tuesday of each month in West Palm Beach.

After an orientation, prospective parents attend pre-service training classes. These classes introduce parents to Florida’s child welfare program and help them understand how to care for an adopted child. During this time, a home study and a thorough background check are also conducted.

Once approved, parents attend matching events, where they meet children who need homes. When they meet a child or group of siblings they want to include in their family, parents notify their counselor to move forward.

Children are initially placed with their new family for a trial period of no less than 90 days. A counselor visits monthly to assess the situation and see how everyone is adjusting. If all goes well, the adoption will be finalized in front of a judge, and the child will legally become a family member.