As National Adoption Awareness Month approaches in November, Shelby County Probate Judge Jeff Beigel is drawing attention to adoption locally and encouraging families to consider it. According to a news release, Beigel’s court handles about 27 adoptions a year and recorded 14 adoption petitions in 2025. Beigel said adoptions are the court’s most uplifting proceedings and said agencies and services exist to assist prospective parents.
Ashley Ziegler of Shelby County Children Services said adoption does not require a picture-perfect family; it requires patience, compassion and a commitment to a child’s well-being. She said roughly 3,500 Ohio children are waiting for adoptive families and that many foster children will not be reunited with biological relatives.
Prospective adoptive parents must complete a home study that includes training, information collection and criminal background checks, a process that can take as long as six months, Ziegler said. She said applicants may be married, single, widowed or divorced; may rent or own a home; may have children or not; and must have enough income for household needs, whether employed or not.
CASA Director Bridget Davis said volunteers visit foster children monthly, sometimes for more than a year, while biological parents work toward reunification. If that is no longer possible and parental rights are surrendered or terminated, a foster family may adopt, she said. Ziegler can be reached at 937-498-4981, and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has a foster-and-adopt website.