Ed. Note: The following paid content was provided by the Children’s Bureau, who is a client of KHTS AM-1220.

Santa Clarita Valley residents in search of Santa Clarita adoption agencies can attend an informational meeting on foster care and adoption Jan. 24 at College of the Canyons.

The meeting is hosted by the nonprofit Children’s Bureau, which collaborates with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services to find foster care or permanent homes for children in need.

“Over 21,000 children in Los Angeles County are in out-of-home care, meaning that they’re away from their family of origin, their birth family,” said Bernadette Boylan, foster care and adoption supervisor for the Children’s Bureau.

Related: Children’s Bureau Holding Foster Care, Adoption Meeting In Valencia

While the goal of the Children’s Bureau is to eventually return foster children to their birth families, according to Boylan, many children do become in need of permanent homes.

“There are about 450 children waiting to be adopted,” she said. “You must foster first, but if you come and join Children’s Bureau and you’re certified with us, you’re certified to do both; you’re certified to foster and adopt.”

In order to foster– and potentially adopt –a child, Children’s Bureau officials ask that individuals or families have the ability, willingness and resources to do several things:

• Protect and nurture children
• Meet their developmental needs while addressing any delays
• Maintain and nurture relationships intended to last a lifetime
• Support the child’s relationship with their birth families
• Work as part of professional team with Children’s Bureau and county social workers, teachers, children’s therapists, etc.

“That’s what this meeting is about,” Boylan said. “(Attendees) should walk away from this meeting asking themselves, ‘Do I have the ability, the willingness and the resources to do these five things?’”

“We’re not a ‘nine-to-five’ because we know parenting doesn’t just happen from nine to five,” she added. “You have support 24/7– you have an individual social worker that works with your family and the child, and we have support groups monthly that’s just made up of other foster parents… We also offer advanced training on a regular basis for (foster) parents so that they can expand their knowledge about the children they have in their families.”

The meeting is scheduled to be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Jan. 24 in room 222 of the University Center at College of the Canyons in Valencia.

For more information about the Children’s Bureau, click here. For more information about the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, click here.

Children’s Bureau

Family Foster Care & Adoptions

1529 East Palmdale Boulevard, Suite 210

Palmdale, CA  93550

800.730.3933