24 kids adopted in Midland-Odessa this week

ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) - Fourteen families met at an Odessa church Friday morning to make the adoption of 17 kids official.

November is National Adoption Month and today was a chance to share the excitement and joy surrounding it. However, The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services also wants to acknowledge the 4,607 Texas kids who are legally free to adopt from DFPS care as of September. Of them, 188 are in the Permian Basin.

Friday’s ceremony was one of three events in the Permian Basin, with seven children being adopted at a ceremony in Midland on Nov. 9 and 11 kids set to be adopted next week in San Angelo on Nov. 17.

Last year, more than 4,400 Texas kids were adopted. This year, the Rollwitz family will contribute to 2023′s total.

Four years ago, Kimberly Rollwitz’s sister fostered siblings Jamison and Isabelle. On Friday, Kimberly and her husband, Anthony, formally adopted the pair.

“I think the moment they were part of our family, they just fit right in. It was like a puzzle piece,” said Kimberly Rollwitz of San Angelo.

The Rollwitz family now includes 2-year-old Temperance, 4-year-old Isabelle and 6-year-old Jamison. A daughter named Brennan is due to be born in February.

With the adoptions official, the couple says forever starts now.

“It’s been a long, hard, up and down journey, but honestly, I wouldn’t change anything for the world,” Kimberly Rollwitz said. “These kids are smart. They are so loving. They care. Oh my gosh I could go on and on.”

The ceremony room was filled with clapping, happy tears and smiles as each family took the stage to answer a few questions, then Judge Tracey Scown approved the adoption.

Tori Urbina of DFPS says help for adoptable children in the Permian Basin is needed.

“We need adoptive families, or just foster families, significantly,” said Urbina, the conservatorship director. “The Permian Basin does not have very many. So unfortunately, many of our youth get moved to other areas, and we’re not able to keep them in the Permian Basin.”

An adoption day is significant for everyone involved, especially the children.

“This means that they are officially done with CPS. They’re done with foster care,” Urbina said. “And they get to be adopted and they are officially a member of a new family.”

West Texans with patience and an open heart are encouraged to consider fostering or adopting.

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