PALMDALE – Optimist Foster Family and Adoption Agency will be hosting the first of a series of local Certification Classes for potential foster and adoptive parents.
The first class will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, July 19 at the agency’s Palmdale office, located at 520 W. Palmdale Blvd., Suite I.
Los Angeles County needs many more foster homes for babies through teenage years and sibling sets, according to Crystal L. Brackin, Assistant Executive Director of Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services.
“Unfortunately, the Antelope Valley area is typically even more underserved in many resource areas, this being one of them,” Brackin stated. “It’s best to keep the children within the communities they are familiar in order to keep them close to family and/or within their home school districts. As a result we need more homes in this area.”
Optimist is available to help local potential foster/adoptive parents through the certification process and provide support throughout the placement process. Optimist offers free training, support and compensation.
You can be a foster parent if you:
- Are at least 21 years old
- Are single, married or same sex partners
- Have enough room in your home for children
- Have no criminal record
- Have a driver’s license and an insured vehicle
- Have a stable income
Call 1-800-454-5561 for more information or to sign up for Saturday’s class.
“Come to the class and let us answer your questions and show you how you can make a tremendous difference in the life of a child and your community,” Brackin stated.
Founded in 1906 in the Highland Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services provides culturally sensitive, comprehensive treatment, specialized education and support services to abused, neglected or at-risk children, youth and their families, to establish stability within families and communities.
The agency’s main Highland Park campus houses 97 teenage boys, a non-public special education school and a charter high school. There are also four group homes in Los Angeles County that house and provide services to 24 at-risk youth, both boys and girls.
Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services is also a fully licensed foster care and adoption agency, with a main facility in Palmdale and offices in Highland Park. Social workers screen and train foster parents to match them with needy children. They also provide full adoption services when foster parents decide to become a forever family for the children in their care.
For more information, visit https://www.oyhfs.org.