There are 150 kids in Greene County alone, and more than 2,000 in Missouri still waiting on a family to call their own. Friday, that wait ended for several youngsters on National Adoption Day.

Of course, it's a celebration for the ten families who finalized adoptions Friday, but the event was also to draw attention to adoption through foster care.

It's a special day for ten families in Greene County, like the Balcoms, having gained another family member, through adoption. "She asked if she could come stay at my house, and she was three at the time," says Lori Balcom.
Lori met now 5 year old Xiomara through foster care.

With two children of their own, it wasn't Lori and her husband's intent to adopt, but their hearts took over. "Once these little kids come into your home, and you get attached to them and they get attached to you, it's hard to see them go when they have nowhere else to go," Balcom says.

Xiomara's birth mom wasn't able to care for her, and like more than 2,000 other kids currently in Missouri, she went into foster care. But she's one of eight on Friday at the Greene County Courthouse, lucky enough to have found a permanent family. "It was just a relief off our shoulders to know that it's done, and she is part of us," says Balcom.

"It's the adoptive families that come forward and take on every legal and social right as if that child were born to them, so they're incredibly important people, to children who are awaiting adoption and to our community, just to provide permanence for the children who need it," says Amanda Jones of Lutheran Family and Children's Services.
Part of National Adoption Day is to debunk the myths about adoption through foster care, like the expense. "There is no cost to adopt through the foster care system," says Jones. In Missouri, tax dollars covers legal expenses, and even provide for health care, plus a monthly cash subsidy.

As far as the emotional cost, take it from someone with experience. "It's very wearing, and there's times when you think, is it really worth it? And when the outcome is like this, you know it is," says Balcom.

The Balcoms adopted another little girl last year, and hope to adopt Xiomara's younger brother. Eight kids on Friday were adopted through foster care, and two by step-parents.

To learn more about adoption or foster care:

Foster Care Adoption: Facts & Figures

Debunking the Myths:
The Facts about Foster Care Adoption

Missouri Children's Division