The Honorable Judge George McFaddin with family during "Rocket Docket"
“It’s the one day I don’t hear scorn, scoffing and scolding in my courtroom,” says Judge George McFaddin speaking about the day he sets aside only to finalize adoptions. On Wednesday at Sumter County Family Court, Judge McFaddin opened the courtroom to make possible what may be a record 33 adoptions for families from around the state.
June Scruggs, Director Region II Division of Adoption Services for SCDSS says this is the fifth time this has been done by Judge McFaddin.
The last one was done in November for Adoption Month, and I believe there were 26. So they keep getting bigger We started at nine this morning and we’re going to go til seven p.m. tonight, and no lunch break. But that’s okay. These children are finding their place in their forever homes. It’s been a long road for many of them.
According to DHEC, at any given time in the state of South Carolina, there are approximately 5,000 children in foster care. The court day dubbed “The Rocket Docket” is a day to streamline uncontested adoptions.
Adopting parents David and Darlene Day have two boys of their own and were in court to adopt a five-month-old girl. Darlene shared their joy:
My husband is in law enforcement and so he’s involved with removing children from homes when they’re in a bad situation. We’ve just known that when we had our own children, we wanted to help other displaced children. More than just fostering, we wanted to adopt. And so, it’s just like a dream come true.
According to DHEC, at any given time in the state of South Carolina, there are approximately 5,000 children in foster care. The court day dubbed “Rocket Docket” is a day to streamline uncontested adoptions.
David Day is happy that the adoption could be done sooner rather than later. “If we were to have waited til the normal docket, it could be up to a year we would have had to wait in Lexington County. So, we were blessed. Fantastic.”
The hearings began at 9 a.m. and were scheduled to go straight through until 7 p.m. with no lunch break.
