Cherie Yopp turned to her 11-year-old niece, Sherray Fortes, in a New Haven courtroom Friday, ready to finalize her adoption. After four years and 32 court dates, Sherray was finally legally hers. “This is definitely a special day for our family,” Yopp, a special education teacher and case manager in Bridgeport, told relatives and state Department of Children and Families personnel gathered in the courthouse. “I know she has a bright future and I’m just here to guide her along the path.” Sherray was placed with Yopp on an emergency basis four years ago amid worries about her parents’ mental health and substance use, according to DCF spokesman Peter Yazbak. Eventually, Sherray’s relatives and DCF decided it would be in her best interest to remain under her aunt’s care, and licensed Yopp for relative foster care. Sherray has since made the honor roll with high honors and developed her love for art, music and the step team. Addressing Yopp in the courtroom Friday, Sherray said, “Cherie, you’ve had me for such a long time and you love me even though I’m bad sometimes. But you still love me within.” Sherray was one of over 40 children who were adopted across Connecticut on Friday to mark CT Adoption Day. DCF has completed nearly 220 adoptions in the state in 2025 so far, according to Yazbak. Sherray’s adoption by a member of her family is the type of placement Connecticut aims to achieve. DCF prioritizes reunifying children with their biological parents. But when that isn’t possible, it emphasizes kinship adoptions, where children are placed with another member of their family. Over the last six years in Connecticut, around half of children placed in care outside their homes have been put with some member of their family, according to Yazbak. John Rogers, program supervisor at the DCF office in New Haven, said the department has observed that kinship placements tend to have better outcomes. He said children are usually most comfortable with family members, especially immediately after they’re removed from their biological parents’ care. “I’m not raising her by myself,” Yopp said of Sherray. “My kids are helping raise her. My sister’s helping. My dad who’s 90 has words of wisdom who’s helping raise her.” Sherray’s adoption was four years in the making. The process for legal adoption is lengthy, and is especially prolonged if a biological parent protests the adoption. That’s what happened in this case. “When it’s a family adoption, there’s a whole lot of family dynamics. Our family is very, very, very close-knit,” said Marie Barnes, Yopp’s sister. The court is bound to consider protests by biological parents, and always prefers reunification if it would be safe for the child. “Every bio parent has a due process,” Rogers said. “We respect that effort. Our goal is in every case to get a child home safely to their bio parent.” Melissa Hodges, the social worker for this case, said that Yopp stepping up to care for Sherray has done “amazing things” for the child. After a child is legally adopted, DCF has no further mandated involvement with the family. “This is where we get to close our case successfully and on a happy note,” Rogers said.
https://ctmirror.org/2025/11/21/ct-adoption-day/