Lenawee County celebrates Adoption Day as brothers find a forever home

ADRIAN — Even though Brantly, 10, and Seth, 8, were kind of tightlipped and somewhat short of words, the expressions on their faces Monday told they were happy to have found their forever home.

The two boys were officially adopted in Lenawee County Probate Judge Catherine A. Sala’s courtroom Monday during Lenawee County’s observance of Adoption Day at the Rex B Martin Judicial Building in Adrian. The ceremony, which was attended by a few family members and friends, saw the first Adoption Day ceremony in probate court since 2019.

Last year’s Adoption Day — which is recognized nationally in November — was conducted virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To this day, many adoption processes still take place virtually or in a hybrid format because of pandemic concerns.

National Adoption Day is a collective effort to raise awareness of the more than 115,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States, according to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Brantly and Seth who were adopted by Adrian residents Dennis and Brigitte Sneyd, were each provided goodie bags fulls of items that they could use to begin theirlife at their new home.

Representing the Sneyds in front of Sala was Jacque Marry of Fostering Solutions, an Adrian foster care service.

“Dennis and Brigitte really went above and beyond,” Marry said, speaking of the attention and care the adults have provided for Brantly and Seth. “They stepped up to care for Dennis’ two younger brothers and the boys started to calling them Mom and Dad immediately as soon as they moved into the home. They are very bonded.”

Marry called the family close knit and said approval of the adoption would be “the best place for Brantly and Seth to be in.”

“It’s definitely going to be a forever home for them. No more moving around,” she said. “All of their needs are met and they are very loved in the home.”

Brantly and Seth have been in and out of the foster care system for some time. They are biological brothers to Dennis, only many years apart. Speaking to Sala, Dennis said he hasn’t talked with his father in about 12 years. During that time, Brantly and Seth were born.

“We have the same dad, just different moms,” he said.

The brothers don’t see Dennis as their older brother. Instead, they see him as their father figure, Brigitte said.

“It was a very easy decision for me to make to care for these boys,” she said. “As soon as I found out they were taken into foster care, we started to try to come up with a way to bring them home. We can have a relationship with them, as they are a part of our family.”

The Sneyds were able to become foster parents for Brantly first. The separation of the brothers was hard for both of them.

“They are so close. We needed to take both of them because it would have been hard to separate them,” Dennis said. “As soon as we got Seth, it was like, ‘Wow.’”

Like any normal siblings, arguments happen, but Dennis said the boys can’t get enough of one another. They were easily able to bond in the Sneyds’ home.

Sala said the adoption process has taken some time, and in that time, familial matters have been able to stabilize.

“I want to commend you both for that,” she said, speaking to Dennis and Brigitte. “… It was a difficult road that brought us to such a happy conclusion today.”

Sala’s findings for the adoption case stated that the adoption of Brantly and Seth was “absolutely desirable and in the best interests of both boys.”

“After today’s date (Nov. 29), the parents of both Brantly and Seth Sneyd will be Dennis and Brigitte Sneyd, and they will continue obviously with their name of Sneyd, which is an amazing thing that we try to promote at all times is for families to stay together as much as possible,” Sala said. “With that I do conclude that your adoption is officially finalized.”

In addition to goodie bags provided by the court, Brantly and Seth were awarded official adoption certificates from Sala. The boys were also provided with a $100 startup savings account courtesy of Lenco Credit Union.

As of Monday, Sala said, Lenco has given out 13 certificates of $100 savings account startups for adopted children in Lenawee County. Lenco, she said, is one of several local partners with Lenawee County Probate Court and adoption services. Other assisting agencies are the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Fostering Solutions and Hands Across the Water.

Sala advised Brantly and Seth to not spend all of their $100 on candy. Celebratory doughnuts were provided for the occasion by Morning Fresh Bakeries.

State Rep. Bronna Kahle, R-Adrian, also was in attendance and spoke briefly about her work at the state level in combatting adoption issues and making the process more streamlined and easier.

“This is not political,” she said. “This is about the kids in our state and ensuring that every opportunity is afforded for them to have a bright future ahead. The state not only has a legal obligation to do this, but we have a moral obligation to do this.”

Michigan has at least 10,000 youth in the foster care system every year, she said, and of those children, 3,000 are legally eligible for adoption.

Kahle is part of a 10-person Michigan Foster Care and Adoption Task Force, comprised of five Republicans and five Democrats, which was formed in March. A report and findings on adoption services in the state of Michigan was published Nov. 10 by the task force. Its findings and recommendations, she said, can be found online.

Being a part of the Adoption Day event Monday was “truly a celebration,” Kahle said.

“I am so excited to be a very tiny part of watching such a momentous moment in your life,” she said to the Sneyds. “Having a forever loving home is what this is all about.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee County celebrates Adoption Day