November is National Adoption Month, a celebration to bring awareness and attention to the need for permanent families for children and youth in the U.S. foster care system.
Since 2000, Children’s Bureau has finalized more than 2,116 adoptions of vulnerable children in Southern California and continues to promote the need for resource parents through its “Be the Reason” recruitment campaign seen on outdoor ad space and online.
In Los Angeles County, the foster care population exceeds 21,000 children with 500 of those foster children, mainly siblings and older children, waiting for an adoptive family. While Children’s Bureau places more than 300 at-risk children in loving foster homes and finalizes 100 adoptions annually, the need continues for more individuals and families to become resource parents.
Resource parents (foster and adoptive) are people who are concerned about the well-being of children and their families. Resource parents protect and nurture children, meet children’s developmental needs, support children’s relationships with their birth families and do all of this as a member of a professional team.
“Children’s Bureau turns away at least 50 calls a day because we don’t have enough resource families to meet the demanding need,” said Amy Heilman, Children’s Bureau’s Director of Foster Care and Adoption.
Children’s Bureau now also offers a fee-for-service Domestic /Independent Adoption Home Study Program for families seeking the adoption of an infant whose birth mother is making an adoption plan for her newborn child.
In addition to adoption home studies, Children’s Bureau provides approval of Interstate Compact packets, post placement supervision visits and reports, and finalization services when the birth mother delivers her baby in another state and the family / birth mother is working with an adoption agency.
Children’s Bureau welcomes every individual regardless of race, age, religion, disability, marital status, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression to become a resource for children. Qualifying families receive training and support throughout their journey.
For those interested, an information meeting is being held Nov. 10, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at 11335 Magnolia Blvd., Suite C, in North Hollywood. To R.S.V.P., or for more information, you can call (213) 342-0162 or (800) 730-3933, email RFrecruitment@all4kids.org , or visit https://www.all4kids.org/program/foster-care/.