A couple went to virtual lengths last month to adopt their 2-year-old foster daughter during the coronavirus pandemic.
Evan and Cayela Moody of Jacksonville, Florida, who have four biological children, had been caring for Isla since 2018. The toddler was just seven days old when she came to live with the family.
The Moodys first submitted an application to adopt Isla in February. But as Florida began ramping up efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the Duval County Courthouse shuttered, putting Isla’s adoption process in limbo.
Evan Moody told “Good Morning America” – “We knew in February that it was pretty much a certainty that she was going to be with us forever. But the actual adoption ceremony itself and decree was on hold indefinitely at that point.”
Still, the family didn’t give up hope. After six weeks, the courthouse resumed business, and Isla’s adoption hearing was once again back on track ― albeit via Zoom.
By the time Isla was adopted on April 30, she’d been in the foster care system for 700 days.
Though the Moody’s were eager to celebrate the news, social distance guidelines rendered it impossible to host a formal party. Instead, members of Fostering Hope, a national foster care support group, delighted Isla by decorating their cars with balloons and staging a drive-by parade.