Total Trib Media reported this week that Judge Guido DeAngelis found great joy in finalizing adoptions and uniting families–one family in particular–this week.
Daryl Lews and Tanya Sloan were blessed to have their daughter, JaNelle (age 2) become officially a part of their family when the judge signed her adoption papers. And then they handed him another paper. The couple had planned to marry on December 13th, but complications of family schedules threatened to delay the marriage. Instead, on the spur of the moment, they gave Judge DeAngelis their marriage license. Shortly after signing adoption papers for JaNelle, the judge performed the marriage for the happy couple. “Today is one of the finest days of my judicial career because in one event and at one time it gave me the opportunity to preserve the family,” Judge DeAngelis said.
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, boasts 184 adoptions so far this year, with 47 more children waiting for their forever families. There has been a drop in adoptions through the foster care system, but for good reason: The Office of Children, Youth, and Families has had greater success lately in reuniting children with their birth families.
