Events to Celebrate National Adoption Month

		County of Los Angeles DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES   425 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, California  90020 (213) 351-5602
Board of Supervisors GLORIA MOLINA First District MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS Second District ZEV YAROSLAVSKY Third District DON KNABE Fourth District MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH Fifth District   PATRICIA S. PLOEHN, LCSW Director

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                   

November 2, 2009

 

Contact:              Susan Jakubowski or Neil Zanville

DCFS Office of Public Affairs, (213) 351-5886        

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

Los Angeles County Celebrates National Adoption Month in November

 

Fifth District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich sponsors Heart Gallery at the

Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration

 

To help raise awareness for the more than 500 children under the supervision of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) awaiting adoptive homes, DCFS is participating in a series of events aimed at celebrating adoptions and recruiting more adoptive families. The current greatest need is for loving homes to welcome primarily Latino or African American children; children to be adopted with siblings; children over age nine; and children with medical needs.

 

On Tuesday, November 3, during the weekly Los Angles County Board of Supervisors meeting, three teens in foster care that have greatly assisted the Department in their adoption efforts will be honored by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.   In addition, the Department will be honored for their participation in all ten years of National Adoption Day.

 

To give faces to some of the children in need for loving families, Fifth District Supervisor Antonovich, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, will be presenting the Heart Gallery.  The Gallery, which offers biographies and professional photographs of more than 20 waiting children, will be located at the Second Floor entrance to the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Los Angeles for the month of November.  All County employees and visitors to the Hall will be welcomed to view the profiles.

 

On National Adoption Day, Friday, November 20, Supervisor Antonovich will join the Honorable Michael Nash, Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court, and Department Director, Patricia S. Ploehn, LCSW, at Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court in Monterey Park to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of this important event.  Fox 11 news anchor Christine Devine and host of “Wednesday’s Child” will also participate in this special event.

 

For more information about adopting through the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, log on to the DCFS web site at http://lacdcfs.org and click on the Adoptions link at the top of the page.

 

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