San Juan County will have fewer foster children after Friday, when San Juan County Superior Court hosts its second National Adoption Day celebration.

Friday’s celebration begins at 3:30 p.m. in Superior Court, located on the second floor of the county courthouse in Friday Harbor. The public is welcome to join the event, co-sponsored by the local office of the DSHS Children’s Administration.

The event offers a chance for a rare view into the process and facts of adoption hearings, which are generally closed by law.

Judge Donald Eaton will preside over a celebration that will include families sharing their stories of adoption, activities for the children, refreshments, information on foster adoptions and more.

The event is a continuation of an annual court adoption celebration launched last year by San Juan County Superior Court Judge John Linde. Judge Linde passed away while on vacation in Hawaii in December, 2009, just a couple weeks after initiating the court’s inaugural National Adoption Day celebration.

San Juan County’s highest court will join nearly 20 other courtrooms across Washington state as courts and adoption workers celebrate National Adoption Day. Founded in 2000 by a coalition of national child welfare organizations, National Adoption Day is an effort to raise awareness of the thousands of foster children available for adoption and awaiting permanent “forever” families.

Washington courts began celebrating statewide in 2005, and since that time, more than 750 children have been adopted during National Adoption Day events in November.

More than 9,100 children live in foster care in Washington state today, and more than 1,300 are available for adoption and waiting to join new families, meaning that the courts have terminated their biological parents’ rights to raise them. Nationwide, more than 120,000 foster children await adoption.