Originally published 2017-12-15.
Adoption-day photos are pictures taken on the day a child's adoption is made legal. In many of them the child holds a hand-lettered sign. The best-known version gives a count of days, along the lines of "I was in foster care for 924 days… but today I was adopted." These photos spread widely in 2015 and 2016, when the nonprofit Together We Rise began posting families' pictures on Facebook and Instagram to encourage people to foster or adopt.
It worked. The group told Bored Panda that thousands of readers had written to say the photos made them think about becoming foster or adoptive parents. It also said that more than 5,000 professional photographers signed up on the first day it invited them to volunteer for adopting families. The togetherwerise.org address now leads to Foster Love, a foster-care charity in Brea, California. Its programmes include Sweet Cases, which gives a child a duffle bag so they don't have to move their belongings in a trash bag.
The photos below come from that campaign. Each caption turns the number on the sign into months or years so you can see how long the wait was. Further down you'll find what the numbers mean and how to get involved.
What the "days in foster care" signs tell you
Foster care is meant to be temporary. Most children who enter it go home to their parents or relatives. Adoption usually comes only after a court ends the birth parents' rights and nobody in the wider family can take the child. That legal process explains why the counts on these signs often reach several hundred or even a few thousand days.
A note on the numbers: Together We Rise said at the time that 1,200 children enter US foster care every day. Federal figures are lower. According to AFCARS data summarised on Wikipedia, 175,283 children entered care in fiscal year 2023, or about 480 a day. In 2020 the median stay for children leaving care was 15.9 months. Many of the children below waited much longer than that.
This boy used a pair of signs to show the before and after: 924 days in foster care, then the word "adopted". That is about two and a half years. His wide grin in the second frame helped make this one of the campaign's most-shared images.
Two dads and their son pose by a city fountain. His chalkboard reads 810 days in foster care, a little over two years, and is dated December 8, 2015. Same-sex couples could marry in every US state from June 2015, and many of them adopt through the foster system.
This triptych covers 2,456 days, almost six years and nine months, which is long even by foster-care standards. The second board dates the adoption to December 3, 2015. In the last frame he swaps his shirt for a Superman cape.
The longest count in the collection: a young woman writes that she spent 5,330 days, nearly fifteen years, in foster care and had "lost all hope". On October 7, 2015 she was adopted and took her new family's name. Older teenagers are the group least likely to be adopted, which makes this picture especially striking.
A little girl in a fringed dress sits next to a round chalkboard. It records 471 days in care, about fifteen and a half months, and an adoption date of November 10, 2015. That is close to the federal median stay.
"Some things are worth waiting for" is written above a red heart and the date 12-10-15. The toddler in the flat cap and cardigan is the boy whose name appears on the board. Adoptions of very young children from care often happen after they have lived with the same foster family since infancy.
A family of six in two frames. The first sign says the children "were a case #" for 1,212 days, about three years and four months. The second says they are now a family. The line about a case number reflects how many foster children say the system made them feel.
Three photos of one girl: 737 days in foster care, then a sign reading "no more", then "Today I was adopted". Her stay was almost exactly two years.
A small boy in a bow tie shields his eyes from the sun next to a "Just adopted" sign with a superhero logo. The picture has no day count, just the news itself.
This board quotes the film Lilo & Stitch: "Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind." The boy began living in foster care at 11 months old and was adopted 840 days later, on February 19, 2016. He was about three and a half on the day.
A wooden sign reads "We didn't give you the gift of life, life gave us the gift of you". It is a well-known adoption saying of uncertain origin. The adoption date is November 24, 2015, and the toddler in the plaid shirt looks very much at home.
A girl in a pink tutu peeks around a framed chalkboard: 1,040 days in foster care, adopted November 4, 2015. That is a little under three years.
For 765 days this girl shared her family's love and home, and as of adoption day she also shares their last name. That wording appears on many boards in this collection, because a name change is one of the first visible legal results of adoption.
A boy raises a whiteboard showing 1,189 days, about three and a quarter years, and then a second sign announcing his new double-barrelled surname, dated 6-5-15. His double-handed salute in the second shot says the rest.
Five children dressed for court pose together. Their sign says they were in foster care and were all adopted on May 7, 2015. Keeping brothers and sisters together is a priority in US child-welfare policy, but large sibling groups can wait a long time for a family able to take them all.
Brothers, sisters and older children
Many of the photos in this part show sibling groups or older children. Agencies describe these as the children who are hardest to place. At any given time, about 100,000 children in US foster care are legally free for adoption, and nearly all of them are school-age.
A teenage boy shows two signs: 965 days in foster care, about two years and eight months, and "But today I am adopted". In the second frame his new parents stand just below him. Adoptions of teenagers are less common, so moments like this get a lot of attention.
Two little boys hug, then sit side by side with a chalkboard announcing that their family "grew by four feet" on October 2, 2015. The pun counts the boys' four feet.
Parents and two children stand in a field at golden hour holding a slate that reads "Officially a family of 4". Many families booked professional photographers for adoption day, as with this shoot.
Two sisters laugh with their new parents, then hold matching cards. The cards say they shared the family's love for several hundred days and now share the family name too. The exact count is too small to read.
A toddler in a pink "Adopted" sash stands on stone steps between two signs. One reads 622 days in foster care, about a year and eight months, and the other "Today I was adopted".
A four-frame story told by a boy in a flat cap: in foster care, for 395 days, but today, adopted. Thirteen months is shorter than the federal median, which may be why he looks so delighted.
Brothers with matching mohawks and bow ties hold an anchor-themed board reading "Ahoy, we're adopted". Nautical and superhero themes were popular choices in these shoots.
A toddler sits in front of a white house in four frames. The boards read "I was in foster care", "for 549 days", "but then July 17th 2015" and "I was adopted". That is about a year and a half.
A young woman stands with her new parents holding a blue sign: 1,902 days in foster care, more than five years, and "Today, May 11, 2015, I am adopted". Adoption is still possible at this age. Some states also allow adults to be adopted by people who have long acted as their parents.
A girl in a purple dress and flower crown sits on the lawn with a sign recording 587 days in foster care and an adoption on 4/2/15. That is just over nineteen months.
A toddler in a blue romper walks through the familiar four-sign sequence: 576 days in care, then adopted on 7-17-13. That date makes this one of the older photos in the set, posted before the campaign went viral.
A smiling baby sits on a courtroom chair beside a small board. It says he shared his family's home for 385 days before sharing their last name, so he was adopted after just over a year with them.
Two brothers lean against a red door either side of a chalkboard: after 1,438 days in foster care, nearly four years, "today we are adopted". Placing siblings together means one family has to be ready for every child at once.
A girl in a red velvet dress poses against autumn leaves with three boards: in foster care, for 642 days, now adopted. That is roughly a year and nine months.
Three boys in matching striped shirts share one sign: "Adopted! Sept 1, 2015". Matching outfits are a simple way to show a family photo of new brothers.
A family gathers in a courtroom with the judge who finalised the adoption, and a teenage girl holds a sign: 2,429 days later, "I found my forever family". That is about six and a half years. Many courts let families take photos with the judge after the hearing.
Names, dates and new beginnings
A theme runs through this part: a new surname. A finalised adoption gives the child a new birth certificate listing the adoptive parents, which is why "today I share their last name" turns up so often.
A teen and her mother take a selfie with a handwritten note. She was in foster care for 1,266 days, about three and a half years, and was adopted at 16. Adoption at that age often means a family for adulthood as well, with someone to call at holidays and for advice.
A girl counts 1,281 days in foster care, holds a slate with her new full name, and then shows the line "Today my name matches my heart". That phrase has become one of the most quoted adoption-day slogans.
A sister and brother hold chalkboards outside a red building. One gives the days they spent in foster care and the other announces that they were adopted by their family. Older sibling pairs like this are among the children who wait longest.
Four children sit on brick steps, each holding a wooden plank with a date. The dates seem to mark each child's birth or arrival, a creative change from the usual day count.
A mother with four children in matching black-and-white outfits. Their board records 1,160 days in foster care, more than three years, followed by the adoption. Their mother appears in the first frame.
Two young children, photographed on the same steps, each hold an "Adopted 9-1-15" board. They seem to have been adopted together on September 1, 2015.
A black-and-white candid of a toddler holding a sign while a parent photographs her on a phone. The sign gives a national foster-care figure "minus me", reminding viewers that each adoption leaves one fewer child waiting.
A little boy in a mint shirt and bow tie stands above a framed sign: "487 days ago I stole their hearts". It is a gentle way of dating the start of the placement rather than the court date.
A fair-haired toddler sits beside a colourful chalkboard: for 637 days he shared their love and home, and from today he shares their last name, too. That is about twenty-one months.
A girl in a yellow dress waves from a park bench next to a sign giving her full new name. It says she shared their home for roughly 400 days before becoming part of the family.
A brother and sister grin either side of a board: for 730 days, exactly two years, they shared the family's love and home, and on July 30, 2015 they took the family's last name.
A boy in a waistcoat laughs in front of a fairy-tale castle with a hand-lettered poster announcing his adoption on 12-7-15. Some families celebrate with a trip, and this one picked a theme park.
A toddler peeks over a big rainbow-lettered poster: for 722 days he shared their love and home, and now he shares their last name. His proud grin needs no caption.
Four children in party clothes hold printed notes giving three different adoption dates in 2015: March 27, June 8 and August 3. Siblings are sometimes adopted on different dates when their legal cases move at different speeds.
Five girls in matching floral dresses share signs saying they used to be cousins and are now sisters. When relatives adopt each other's children, it is called kinship adoption, and it keeps children within their wider family.
A family photo on a wooden bridge ends with the children holding two slates that read "Officially" and the family's new surname. The earlier frames show each child's own sign.
Babies, toddlers and big celebrations
The last group includes some of the youngest children in the collection. Some were adopted after less than a year in care, others after four or five.
A smiling baby leans over a burlap-framed chalkboard: "I am thankful for... I was in foster care 280 days. Today I'm adopted 12-31-15". That is about nine months, and he was adopted on New Year's Eve.
This board tells a whole story in three dates: born May 3, 2013; "you stole our hearts" July 31, 2013; adopted January 20, 2016. The boy joined his family as a newborn and waited two and a half years for the adoption to be legal.
Three sisters in a four-frame sequence with small chalkboards. The first says they spent 1,034 days, almost three years, in foster care. The others say they have shared the family's love and now have their forever family.
A boy and his mother hold a glittery poster: "Today I'm lucky!!! I'm finally" followed by his new name and the date 10-05-15. Clearly, the boy had a hand in writing that poster.
A boy in a dark suit poses with a small turquoise easel against a studio backdrop in three frames. Studio portraits like this were often taken by the volunteer photographers the campaign brought in.
A toddler peeks around a lime-green frame in four photos: for 899 days, I was in foster care, but today, I was adopted. 899 days is almost two and a half years.
A couple and four children pose on the steps of an old courthouse with a sign naming their family. The courthouse is part of the story, because an adoption becomes final only when a judge signs the decree.
A smiling girl sits next to a black board decorated with flourishes. It says she shared her family's love and home for 907 days and now shares their name, and it cites Jeremiah 29:11, a verse often used in Christian adoption celebrations.
A boy in a bow tie holds a bright blue poster: for 1,471 days, about four years, he shared their love and home, and now he also shares their last name.
A boy covers a laugh beside a whiteboard reading "I spent 1,246 days in foster care and today I was adopted 2-9-2016". That is close to three and a half years.
A small girl stands between her parents, who hold a large wooden letter, the first initial of the family name. Her board gives the number of days she shared their home before the adoption.
Three siblings sit on the grass with two boards: 1,838 days in foster care, about five years, adopted 4/24/15, and "We have found our forever family".
A boy in a white linen shirt holds two slates: "I was in foster care for 739 days…" and "but today, I was ADOPTED!!!". The capital letters match the size of his grin.
Three children, each with a whiteboard, adopted together. Their boards give different day counts, a reminder that brothers and sisters often enter care at different times.
A little girl with a big white bow holds a chalkboard: 1,233 days in foster care, about three years and four months, adopted March 23, 2015.
A boy holds a cheerful poster with stick-on letters: in foster care for 1,349 days, but today he is adopted. That is about three years and eight months.
Three siblings in their best clothes hold a pink-lettered sign: 1,103 days in foster care, and on June 16, 2015 they became a family. That is just over three years.
Three siblings tell their story in four chalkboards: in foster care for 1,419 days, nearly four years, and adopted on December 14, 2014.
Two girls lie on the grass behind decorated chalkboards, one blue and one pink. They record the time they spent in foster care and their adoption in October.
A tiny girl in a pink dress walks down a government-building corridor holding a bunch of balloons almost as big as she is. This is a candid shot, probably taken right after the hearing.
A curly-haired toddler in red shoes stands next to a sidewalk sign: after 553 days in foster care, today she is adopted, November 18, 2015, Las Vegas, Nevada. November is National Adoption Month in the US, and many courts hold group adoption days then.
How to help if these photos move you
You don't have to adopt to make a difference. Here are some practical ways to start:
- Learn how fostering works where you live. Each state or county agency runs its own information sessions and licensing training. Most foster placements end with the child going home. That is the system's first goal, and foster parents play a big part in it.
- Look at adoption from foster care. Public adoptions often cost little or nothing, and many children qualify for ongoing support, such as monthly subsidies and Medicaid. Wikipedia cites a 2015 survey that put the average cost at about $2,622, much of which can usually be recovered through the federal adoption tax credit.
- Support children in care. Charities such as Foster Love collect duffle bags, birthday boxes and scholarship money. Volunteer mentoring and Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programmes give a child a steady adult while their case runs.
- Respect privacy. Families chose to share these pictures. If you are celebrating your own adoption day, think about what your child might want online when they are older.
The signs count days, but each one stands for something larger: a child with an adult who has made a permanent, legal promise to stay.
Sources: Photos shared by adoptive families through Together We Rise (now Foster Love). Campaign figures as reported by Bored Panda. Federal statistics from Wikipedia: Foster care in the United States (AFCARS data) and Wikipedia: Adoption in the United States.
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