California GLBT youth need you

There are over 80,000 children in the foster care system in California. Some find loving adoptive homes, but for many more the future is uncertain, especially for LGBT kids.

Local agency Family Builders by Adoption, which has been committed to placing kids with families since 1976, hopes to change that.

This month, Family Builders unveiled a new ad campaign aimed at foster parents who may be willing to adopt LGBT kids. The ads feature a mother holding a picture of her gay son with his prom date and the slogan "My Pride and Joy. Be a foster parent to an LGBTQ kid. Everyone deserves a proud parent."

The ads address the urgent need to find families for the LGBT kids in the foster system. The kids awaiting foster families mostly live in group homes, which Family Builders Executive Director Jill Jacobs said "is the last place most gay kids should be."

"Group homes and congregate care are based on gender identification, and when you have fluid gender identity or you're questioning your gender identity, it's the last place you should be. And it's the place LGBT kids end up in the most," Jacobs said.

Currently, Family Builders is working with fewer than five foster homes, and Jacobs said they receive calls every day from organizations trying to place children.

"We are really looking to the community to step up and help us make sure LGBT youth are with safe and affirming and loving families," Jacobs said.

"We love single parents, we love couples, families who have raised kids, families who've not been parents and want to be," Jacobs said. "I often hear from people who are in their 40s and 50s that 'I'm too old,' but they're the perfect age to raise an older child. Other than criminal record clearance, we don't have a lot of obstacles and barriers."

For more information on how to become a foster parent, call Family Builders at (510) 272-0204, or visit http://www.familybuilders.org.