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| Sign here! Photo by Len Wood |
November is National Adoption Month: a nationwide effort to encourage families to embrace youth in the county foster care system. An average of 400 children in are in foster care at any given time in Santa Barbara County, and in some cases foster parents ultimately adopt the kids.
Each November, DSS holds Adoption Day, a multi-family adoption ceremony, in partnership with the Santa Maria Juvenile Court. At this year's event on November 16, local families finalized adoption of 16 children. Some of the happy scenes can be seen in this photo gallery.
The event included parents, children, CASA volunteers (who advocate for children throughout the adoption process), CWS social workers, and representatives of the "Our County, Our Kids" foster parent recruitment initiative.
For more information on becoming a foster family, click here.