Meet the kids

Ottavio (October 2012) is a polite kid with an amiable personality!  Although he is initially shy, Ottavio becomes talkative and engages well with others, particularly when he receives some encouragement.  Ottavio enjoys all kinds of sports and plays both baseball and football on community teams.  Though generally quiet, Ottavio opens up with encouragement from teammates, responding to the social energy of others to come out of his shell.  Ottavio hasn’t decided yet what he wants to be when he grows up and would thrive in a family with adoptive siblings around his age or older.  Despite some mixed feelings about adoption, he is open to all family constellations.  Ottavio loves playing with the pet dogs in his foster home and is excited about the possibility of having pets as a part of his future forever family.  Photo Credit: Will Wong

Woodrow (b. July 2010) is a thoughtful and engaging young teen in foster care who is
earnestly seeking to be a part of a permanent family. He possesses a unique blend of
creativity and technical aptitude, particularly enjoying technology that merges sound and
visual editing.  Woodrow likes to read and is currently into competitive typing, something that reflects his dedication in developing new skills.

Woodrow is active and adventurous. He envisions a possible career pursuit of working for a government agency like the FBI, where he can leverage his intellect and technical
skills to make a difference. He seeks a nurturing family that would support his
interests and personal growth. Beyond the practical benefits of having a permanent
family, what Woodrow deeply desires is an inclusive environment where he is cherished
for who he is, rather than being merely monitored as part of the foster care system.

Woodrow describes himself as a kind person who makes a genuine effort to treat everyone he encounters with warmth and respect. His heartfelt request is simple yet powerful: he wishes to meet people who are willing to open their hearts and truly welcome him into their family. As Woodrow aptly states, “You’re never really going to get to know me until you actually go out and get to know me.”

Photo Credit: Peter Christiansen Valli

Victoria (b. April 2011) is an exceptionally creative young girl in foster care with a genuine passion for arts and crafts. She delights in making things and is deeply drawn to beauty and fashion – always eager to discover evolving aspects of her own unique style. With a flair for makeup, hair, and accessorizing, Victoria is fine with dressing up for any given occasion.

Victoria likes school, enjoying cycling class as well as leadership courses. Her enthusiasm for art classes comes as no surprise and one of her recent projects that excited her was crafting ribbon flowers, turning out some beautiful roses.

Though she may be a bit shy at first, Victoria’s charming personality quickly shines through and enables her to connect with others. Victoria has a heartfelt desire for a loving family, complete with pets! While she adores cats, her allergy makes having one a challenge; however, she dreams of having a pet dog. Victoria also envisions having adoptive siblings, perhaps a sister with whom she could share a bond as well as having fun times. Most importantly, Victoria is eager to find a welcoming family that is enthusiastic and ready to support her during her high school years and beyond!  Photo Credit: Will Wong

Emanuel (b. October 2014) is the oldest in this band of brothers.  Emanuel is an active young boy with a friendly smile who likes playing video games.  Emanuel also enjoys reading and can read a book in a short period of time.

Ismael (b. March 2016) has a colorful personality and prefers to be called “Isma”. Isma can do simple math and spell some words. Isma is engaging and empathic and does well around other children. One of Isma’s favorite activities is playing with LEGOS.

David (b. November 2018) is the youngest of this sibling set and is a playful little boy. David is smart and enjoys learning and he is receiving services to help with his expressive language skills.  David is full of energy and is into superheroes, with Spiderman being one of his favorites.

All three of these siblings enjoy playing outdoors and they all do well with pet animals.  All the children do fairly well in school and usually get along with each other and their peers.  If adding this band of brothers to your family resonates with you, please let us know — we are eager to hear that they’ve found their forever family!

Photo Credit: Akiko Liu

Joshua is a handsome young teen who was born towards the end of October 2010.  When describing Josh, people use adjectives like “sweet, smart, and creative”.  He has a pretty decent singing voice and is into drawing and doing origami.

At school, Joshua benefits from academic support that helps him stay focused and on-track.  He does best in a smaller school setting where he has individual attention. He’s also working on his peer-to-peer communication skills to avoid conflicts with his classmates.  As for extra-curricular activities, running track is something that suits Joshua.

In his free-time, Joshua enjoys playing with action figures such as Marvel Legends, reading graphic novels and watching television.  His favorite foods are pizza and ramen with hot sauce.  Joshua has some important connections established in the greater Los Angeles area and would like an adoptive family that would honor and support those connections.   If you can see Joshua joining your family table, please let us know.

Photo Credit: Peter Christiansen Valli

Alexander (b. March 2016) is sweet and caring child with a lively personality.  He is an active child who likes being outdoors – whether it’s going for walks or trying his hands (and feet) at basketball.  Alexander is a great talker and friendly with other kids.  He loves video games, word searches, toy cars, bubbles and arts &crafts using playdough.   At times Alexander struggles with regulating his emotions and will tantrum when he feels he is not being listened to or when he cannot get his feelings across.  Alexander benefits from structured environments which provide clear rules and boundaries.

Photo Credit: Peter Christiansen Valli

Precious little Abigail (b. February 2013) is awaiting a forever home. She needs a family that will hold her and provide comfort. Abigail is very medically complicated and is in a persistent vegetative state. She requires assistance with mobility and rotation during the day and night. Abigail is a little girl that deserves one-on-one human interaction and affection. She does not seem to have the ability to speak or acknowledge people who provide care for her. Those who know her, though, fall in love with this darling little girl of Latinx descent.

Abigail’s delays and medical issues stem from Treacher Collins Syndrome. She has a history of Seizure disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Anoxic Brain Syndrome, Hardness of hearing and Blindness. She is dependent on a ventilator, trachea, and G-tube and receives physical and occupational therapy. Abigail tolerates being moved throughout the week and although she has multiple medical issues, she has been consistently stable in health.

Like everyone else, this little one deserves a chance to live with a family that will understand her needs and that will provide her with unconditional TLC. Could this be your family? If you are interested to learn more about this little angel, please contact Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services at 626-229-3790.

Let’s meet Adyn [b. July 2009], a bright and energetic young teen and budding tech expert! Adyn likes playing video games, but even more so he loves tinkering with electronic things – like old broken radios or broken motorized toys – to see how they work. In addition, Adyn is discovering increased interest in being outdoors and doing things swimming, riding bike, or playing soccer. Adyn will fully engage in things that interest him, and lately one of those interests is an idea for when he’s older and has a driver’s license, of finding his future ‘dream vehicle’ – a Ford truck – and going on a cross-country expedition.

Adyn likes going to school to learn and to socialize and play with his friends. He is doing okay academically, but he could improve his grades if he applied himself a little more as there have been times when he has not completed some of the classwork. Adyn gets assistance at school so that he can continue to meet his educational goals. Adyn is in therapy and has made a lot of progress, and now uses the skills learned in therapy in regards to respecting the personal space of others and choosing better words to communicate his feelings.

Adyn does have two older sisters who are being adopted and he would like to find a family that is supportive of his maintaining a relationship with them. If you’ve been tinkering with the idea of expanding your family and think that a budding engineer or tech expert like Adyn could be a good fit, let us know. We are looking to connect Adyn with his forever adoptive squad! Photo Credit: Children’s Action Network

Meet Jonathan, a dynamo of a kid who enjoys expending energy – whether it’s jumping around on a trampoline, dribbling a basketball, or splashing around in the pool! Jonathan was born in December of 2012 and is a self-described “happy kid” who likes to make friends and spend time engaging with people. Jonathan wants to be a police officer when he grows up to help ensure that “no one gets hurt or has to go to jail.”

Jonathan has been able to tolerate virtual school and is receiving services to assist him in dealing with frustrations and to communicate when he is angry or upset.
Jonathan is very aware that he has many food allergies, including being allergic to eggs, milk, and fish. He does, however, enjoy foods such as apples, bananas, carrots, and apple sauce. Jonathan has Purine and Pyrimidine Metabolism Disorder which entails the use of a G-tube to meet some of his dietary needs. Jonathan is diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD for which he is on a medication regimen and receiving Wraparound services. He is also benefitting from Regional Center services such as speech and language therapy with specialized academic instruction to help with a Mild Intellectual Disability.

Jonathan is hoping to join a forever family that will help him reach his full potential and will also enjoy playing and finding joy in the here and now. If you can picture Jonathan as part of your family’s portrait, let us know. We’re ready to help you bring Jonathan’s future into focus! Photo Credit: Aura Aguirre

Eric (born in August 2010) is a charming and engaging boy, full of curiosity! Eric is genuinely interested in learning about people, circumstances and the world around him. As you can imagine, he’s also talkative and asks a lot of questions. Unusual for someone his age, video games and television do not rule Eric’s attention as he prefers to do hands-on activities. Eric has a mechanical aptitude in that he loves to take things apart and put them back together and he wants to know how things work. Eric is also athletic and loves to engage in physical and sporting activities that require running and physical exertion.

Eric’s physical coordination shines through when engaged in some of his favorites such as basketball, baseball, soccer and riding bike. Keeping active and engaged in activities is very therapeutic for Eric and helps him retain his focus. Eric hasn’t expressed particular career interests for when he grows up. For now, finding his way into a forever family will help nurture such future aspirations. Eric is loyal to those he cares about and he has some biological family connections he would like to keep.

The adoptive family Eric would like to be part of would be sensitive to and supportive of such connections. Eric envisions having parents who would allow him to (help) cook meals and build things. Eric also likes the idea of having a pet, a cat in particular. If you can envision Eric as a permanent part of your enclave, please reach out to us. We want to help to help Eric find the family he fits into and in which he can become all that he is meant to be! Photo Credit: America’s Kids Belong