National Adoption Day Celebrated Around The Southland

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — There are more than 500 children in LA County waiting to be adopted into loving homes.

The wait is over for more than 100 others.

Today is National Adoption Day and here in Southern California a coalition of children's rights groups celebrated the official and formal adoption of 110 children.

Kristine Lazar, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, sat in on one of the emotional proceedings in Monterey Park.

Katie and Dennis Whitaker are now the proud parents of 3-year-old Soul Whitaker.

"We have been waiting for this day for two-and-a-half years," she told Lazar, "it's just the best day ever ... of our lives."

Whitaker added, "I had a gut instinct the moment I held him the first time and I just knew this is my child."

Philip Browning, LA County Department of Children and Family Services, said, "Recently I heard a 17-and a half-year-old boy say the reason he wanted to be adopted, at that age, was to have a place to go for Christmas and Thanksgiving."

Cindy De La Torre was adopted at 17, after being abandoned by her mother at 5-years-old. She told Lazar, "Knowing that I have a whole family I can turn to and rely on, it's such a good feeling."

In just a few short years, National Adoption Day has become a huge success. Lazar reports between 1-3,000 children are adopted on this day nationwide.