National Adoption Day was celebrated Friday morning with a ceremony finalizing the adoption of 9 children at the Monroe County Family Court in Rochester.
The holiday is a collective effort to raise awareness for the over 100,000 children living in foster care across the country, and to celebrate the families that have chosen to adopt.
In Monroe County, there are currently 487 children awaiting permanent homes.
Alicia Dougherty attended the celebration with her husband Josh. They were with their 7 adoptive and foster children, all decked out in matching plaid and converse sneakers.
"About 7 years ago we were told by a doctor that we could not have children. Boy was he wrong! We can have children, you just have to go about it a different way."
Josh Dougherty, with a child in each hand, said adopting and fostering was their family’s way of trying to make a change in their community.
"What an amazing opportunity we have, and what a difference that we get to make. Sometimes people scratch their heads and say how do you do it? And it’s not how do we do it, it’s why don’t we do more."
Kisha Smith was one of the 8 families that signed adoption papers at the event. She adopted 3 year old Damere Smith.
“It was a day that we were looking forward to, it’s been 3 long years, and now the journey is finally over. After going back and forth to court, we can just have peace at home."
Monroe County has had a total of 21 adoptions this year, and expects to finalize about 38 total by the end of 2016.