WAUWATOSA — Friday had been years in the making for Mariah Morris. After spending six years in foster care, she was adopted by her older biological sister, Gloria.
"It's an emotional thing for me," Gloria told TMJ4. "She's been through so much; we've been through so much."
The time Mariah spent in foster care wasn't always easy.
"She had multiple placement disruptions, multiple things that fell through for her, and experienced a lot of heartbreak," said Courtney Casey, Mariah's case manager.
Children's Wisconsin was able to reunite Mariah with Gloria last year.
Watch: Families get bigger as Adoption Day is celebrated in Milwaukee County
Just a few months before her 18th birthday, she's now back with permanent family.
Mariah's story is something Children's Wisconsin hopes for more of. The organization says around 6,000 kids in the state are in out-of-home care, including 1,500 in Milwaukee County.
"It is so important for kids to know that they have family that they can turn to," Casey said. "Your family doesn't stop when you turn 18, and these kids need family to rely on for the rest of their lives. So we especially need foster parents for teenagers."
Down the hall at the courthouse, another family was meeting that need. The Oppeneer family was officially making James a part of their family after fostering him for a year.
James was happy about his big day, and many of his new family members came to watch.
"It's great. We don't do this on our own," Dan Oppeneer, James' dad, said. "We have a big family. We have lots of friends who are here celebrating with us. Our church is here with us, the school is represented here with us."
Both kids got to strike the gavel to make their adoptions official.
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