LA County Recruitment Campaign Seeks Latino Homes Ready to Open Their Hearts to Children Who Need a Family
Carla Baeza always wanted to have children. Her dream came true the day she became Foster mother.
Carla and her husband César Torres had been married for five years when they decided to start a family.
"For 10 years we tried to have children," recalled the Chilean immigrant, in an interview with The opinion. But the children did not arrive and Carla was not sure she wanted to adopt.
“In my heart I didn't know what to feel. I didn't want to think of adoption as if it were a 'Plan B', ”shared the mother.
But in 2016, a coworker introduced her to foster parent system (Foster Care) of the LA County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). That was the introduction that changed his life.
"I started learning about the foster parent system and fell in love with the process." Carla pointed out that, as she internalized and learned more, she began to discover the great there is a need for families to open their hearts to these children.
Among her fears of embarking on the process, Carla mentioned that of becoming attached and perhaps having to return to the child, and vice versa, that the child would become attached to them and then have to leave.
"But I learned that, in the end, you have to think about the benefit of children. I became strong. It is worth knowing that as a family we give him all the best and that the child is happy."
From foster mother to adoptive mother
Carla said that the first foster child lived only five days at home, and the second, two months. When Thomas, the third foster son and now his adopted son, came into Carla's arms, he was just a newborn. In March 2019, Carla and César finalized their adoption papers. Today, Thomas, is two years old.
“When Thomas was one year old, we traveled to Chile to celebrate his birthday. And while we were there, the social worker called us to tell us that her mother was pregnant again and if we were interested in becoming her foster parents, "she recalled. The couple accepted on the spot.
Lucas, Thomas' biological brother, is still his foster son and has another name on his papers. But Carla and César are carrying out the procedures to be able to adopt him.
Goals and sacrifices
"All the goals in life, be it study, work, require sacrifice. It is never easy to reach them. And the same goes for the Foster system. It takes time, emotions, sacrificeCarla reflected. "But if the goal is to help, you must dare to do it. Love is also sacrifice", he pointed.
The mother indicated that DCFS offers numerous resources and services to parents, such as psychological therapy to learn to deal with emotions.
"We feel immensely fortunate for have a system like DCFS. We have similar systems in our countries, but they are not as good as this one. ”
Carla recommended finding out about the different programs DCFS offers, and discover other ways you can help to the thousands of children who need a home.
"We know that there is a world of pain, and we turn our backs on it. We don't want to see it. But there are many ways to help these children that not only involve being a foster or adoptive parent. " Carla cited the program of visits to hospitals and that of "backpacks", among many others.
“Foster children go from house to house with their belongings in garbage bags. The backpack program, for example, brings together people who precisely prepare backpacks so that minors can carry their things in them, instead of having to resort to garbage bags, "he explained.
"Love is delivery. I would like to have 50 children in my home, but I cannot. So I want to share my experience and invite Latino parents and families to plant that love in the children who need it most", Indicated.
Together with the children
Each month, more than 19,000 children enter the foster care system (Foster Care) of Los Angeles County. More than half of these children are Latino.
For this reason, yesterday, the supervisor Hilda Solís, Together with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Office of Immigrant Affairs, he launched the Latino family recruitment campaign.
“Together with the Children” seeks to interest Latinos in becoming Foster Parents of children who share their language and culture.
“We celebrate the launch of Juntos con los Niños, the Los Angeles County's First Spanish Adoptive Parent Recruitment Campaign reflecting dynamic diversity within our communities, removes cultural barriers that prevent Spanish-speaking people from becoming adoptive parents, and embraces Latino cultural pride and self-esteem, ”said the Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solís.
"The families that speak mainly spanish are a valuable resource for children in our foster care system. Sharing Latino cultural traditions and a common language can reduce trauma for youth who are separated from their biological families and placed in a bilingual foster home. This cultural affirmation will put our children on the path to success in life, ”added the Supervisor.
For more information About the foster parent program visit www.JuntosconlosNinos.org.
