Atlanta attorney receives Congressional award for adoption advocacy
Atlanta attorney receives congressional award for adoption advocacy
Many families are made whole through adoption. One Atlanta attorney has seen many loving parents through that process for more than two decades now… and she was recently recognized on a national level for it. She’s this week’s Everyday Hero.
ATLANTA - Many families are made whole through adoption. One Atlanta attorney has seen many loving parents through that process for more than two decades. She was recently recognized on a national level for it.
"I’ve always wanted to help children," says Atlanta adoption attorney Ina Cook.
Ina’s calling for child advocacy dates back to her years studying at Emory University and even earlier than that in her childhood.
"I was raised by my father. He’s a single father. My mom passed when I was 12 and I just saw how community works together to raise children. I wanted to help those whose community wasn’t as strong in their lives helping them," says Ina.
For 24 years, she has been making families complete through legal adoption, and is also advocating reform policies for undocumented children in the system.
Her platform to help abandoned, abused or neglected children in the foster care system propelled her to Washington D.C. last month to be recognized as one of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute's Angels in Adoption. Georgia's U.S. Congressman Hank Johnson was there.
"He’s the one who actually nominated me for the award and he gave me the award," says Ina. "I can see it as a platform for me to be able to talk about some of the issues that are really close to my heart. So I was really excited about the opportunity to do that on a national level."
Even more motivation to continue the work of being an angel and an everyday hero in her own community.
"I still tear up. I think I just did one yesterday and I started to tear up," says Ina about the adoption process. "To know and see that this child has some security finally. It’s a pretty amazing thing to do."
Ina also has her own personal story of adoption. She adopted her youngest daughter at five years old back in 2005.
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