Families welcome newest additions at Adoption Day

SALEM – New families shed tears of joy Friday as they were officially bound together by love during the 4th annual National Adoption Day at Essex County Juvenile Court.Roughly 220 children statewide were welcomed into new homes including the adoption of 15 children from neighboring communities.With tears in their eyes, Lynn residents Eugene and Christine DiSaia embraced their newly adopted son, John David Olindo DiSaia, in a crowded courtroom filled with friends and family.Salem Probate Court Judge Peter DiGangi began the ceremony by singing a song to John, welcoming him into his new family, officially recognizing the adoption.Decked out for his big day, John, 2, squirmed in his gray dress pants while his big blue eyes sparkled as he looked at his new mom.”John came to us at 11 months old as our second foster care placement and we’ve had him for a year and a half,” she said. “Having him as a foster child has been an absolute joy. He’s funny, charming and very bright.”An attorney in Salem, Christine said she often works with cases from Salem Juvenile Court and is quite familiar with the adoption process.”Originally we went into the process to just do foster care and we didn’t have any plans to have children,” she said. “But after six weeks, we couldn’t say yes fast enough.”According to the National Adoption Day organization, there are roughly 2,400 children in foster care in Massachusetts who are waiting for adoption and 114,000 nationwide.Those adopted Friday were treated to goodie bags containing teddy bears, afghans embroidered with their names and gift certificates for a free cake at the Coffee Time Bake Shop to further celebrate the day.Treats in hand, some of the children enjoyed a screening of The Wizard of Oz, while others were delighted by a balloon sculptor who created every design imaginable.Salem residents Modistina and German DelaCruz, new parents to granddaughter Jaiska, were simply thrilled to sit on a bench and watch the young girl play.”Jaiska is my granddaughter and her brother Xavier, who I have permanent guardianship of, also lives with me,” she said. “My daughter is their mom, but the Department of Social Services (DSS) took them away from her, so I decided I needed to keep them together.’Twirling around in a pink fluffy dress with white tights and pink bows in her hair, Jaiska, 1, oblivious to the importance of the day’s events, happily giggled and danced with her new parents.”My other daughter has two children that were also taken away by DSS, but they were adopted by another family and live in the Boston area, but they don’t want any contact with us,” she said. “So I was really nervous about Xavier and Jaiska being taken away too.”Lynn mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. and numerous State Representatives joined the happy families to congratulate them on the special day.For more information contact Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) at 617-54-ADOPT.