Smiles everywhere as dozens of foster children get adopted in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, New York (WABC) -- November is Adoption Month. And Thursday, 40 adoptions were legalized at Kings County Family Court in Brooklyn.

There were smiles everywhere. Some families have waited years to get to this point. These are public adoptions, so the children are coming through the foster system.

For Mayra Rivera of Queens, it took seven years to get to this day. She adopted four siblings Thursday. She has fostered them since the youngest was just 1 year old.

Kimberly Westbrooks of East New York carried her 15-month-old son Xavier with pride. He is the fifth child she's adopted. She's already adopted his four older siblings.

The New York Foundling, a charity, helped these two families through the adoption process. But there are 9,000 other New York City children in foster care. Most will return to their biological parents, but 10-15 percent need to be adopted.