With the theme of “Giving Thanks for Families,” courts across Michigan will celebrate Adoption Day 2021 on Tuesday, November 23. Held on or near the Tuesday before Thanksgiving each year, Adoption Day has become a holiday tradition, highlighting the importance of adoption and the needs of children in foster care. Many courts will finalize adoptions, while others will hold informational events to reach potential adoptive parents.
The Michigan Supreme Court is pleased to present two awards during its online Adoption Day ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. The ceremony will be held via Zoom and livestreamed on the court’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com/user/MichiganCourts.
The 2021 Maura D. Corrigan Foster Family Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Mark and Debbie Berlin, licensed foster parents in Hillsdale. On hand to present the award will be Justice Elizabeth T. Clement, Michigan Supreme Court co-liaison on Child Welfare; Justice Megan K. Cavanagh, Michigan Supreme Court co-liaison on Child Welfare; and Maura D. Corrigan.
The award, sponsored by the Michigan Supreme Court, was established in honor of Corrigan who, as chief justice, focused on finding forever homes for children in foster care. Corrigan, who later served as the head of Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for serving some of Michigan’s most vulnerable citizens and has been widely credited for improving the child welfare system.
In addition, the Daniel J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award for Exemplary Service to Michigan’s Families will be presented to Washtenaw County Peacemaking Court Judge Timothy P. Connors during the Michigan Supreme Court ceremony. On hand to present the award will be Justices Clement and Cavanagh, and Chief Judge Allie Greenleaf Maldonado, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Tribal Court.
The Wright Award, jointly sponsored by the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, was established in honor of the late Daniel J. Wright. A former director of the Friend of the Court Bureau and Child Welfare Services division of the State Court Administrative Office, Wright helped create the state’s “adoption forums” to deal with adoption barriers that were keeping children in foster care. He worked on legislation to give foster children a voice in decisions about their lives. The law now requires courts to consult the child when holding a hearing about permanent home placement.
For additional information on National Adoption Day, visit www.nationaladoptionday.org.
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