The Indiana Heart Gallery, a compelling exhibit featuring portraits of children in need of adoptive families, will be available for viewing in the Portage Public Library Dec. 7 - 16.

The Indiana Department of Child Services uses the Heart Gallery to help raise awareness of the many children in foster care in need of a forever home. There are approximately 1,100 foster kids in Indiana currently eligible for adoption and while many will be adopted by a relative or foster parent, DCS is actively seeking adoptive families for a number of them.

“All children want a home filled with love and a family with whom they can share their birthdays and celebrate holidays. They want a room with their own toys, to have friends, play sports and participate in after-school activities. Most importantly, they want a loving, supportive family to be there for them as they grow up,” noted DCS Director John Ryan. “The children featured in the Heart Gallery are no exception. They just need a little help from all of us in finding that forever family.”

Using the talents of professional photographers who volunteer their time, the individual spirit and personality of each child is captured. Heart Gallery photographs sometimes show shy children wrapped in their security blankets, girls dressed up as princesses, boys hugging dogs and siblings laughing together. The children all have one thing in common: they need families that will give them unconditional love.

Over 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States. More than 100,000 are legally available for adoption and in need of adoptive families. Many of these children are older, in sibling groups that want to be adopted together or have special needs.

This year, approximately 20,000 young people will leave the foster care system without lifelong families—most at age 18. On their own, these young adults must navigate a weakened economy offering fewer jobs and less support for vital services such as housing. They deserve caring adults who love and support them. For some foster kids, getting adopted can mean the difference between homelessness or incarceration and transitioning successfully to adulthood.

The Indiana Heart Gallery will display a dozen portraits daily, from Friday, Dec. 7 through Saturday, Dec. 15 at the Portage Public Library, 2665 Irving Street in Portage. Viewing times are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 9 – 5 p.m. The library is closed on Sundays. There is no charge to see the exhibit.

For more information about the Indiana Heart Gallery, go to http://www.in.gov/dcs/3033.htm

To find out more about adopting an Indiana child or to host a Gallery, call 888.25ADOPT

Posted 12/7/2012