Top Stories

Allegheny Co. holds first virtual adoption for local family

PITTSBURGH — The coronavirus is changing the way the Allegheny County court system works.

Recently, the county held its first virtual adoption.

After a 16 minute legal proceeding, the Garitis are cheering. The adoption was two years in the making.

"It was pretty much like my wedding day. The day prior and the hussle and bussle of getting ready and then the day of it was just like go with the flow," said Heidi Gariti.

If you want to receive BREAKING NEWS ALERTS, please download our WPXI News App. You can also follow WPXI on Facebook and Twitter.

"I just feel like all that weight and all that stress and anxiety that I've had for the past two years being in the system was like lifted off and just kind of went into a fire," said Maddie Gariti.

The connection between the family and Maddie was immediate, according to Heidi. She discovered later on that Maddie needed more than just a friend.

"I'm a follower of Jesus, and he made it very clear that she was to be with us and so my heart was prepared and it wasn't very much time before I called and said I could be a resource family if needed and that it was needed," Heidi said.

After Heidi had gone through the court system and followed all of their guidelines to make sure what she felt in her heart was permanent, COVID-19 hit Allegheny County. The court system shut down and their ceremony was put on hold, until now.

"When they announced her from this point forward her full name.Then it was, you know, lots of tears, and it's been a long, long road," Heidi said.

COVID-19 stopped a lot of things, but it couldn’t stop the Garitis from becoming one big happy family.