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Last updated on Thursday, February 18, 2016
(BEDFORD) - The Indiana Heart Gallery, a traveling exhibit featuring compelling portraits of children in need of adoptive families, is stopping in Bedford.
The Gallery will be featured at the Bedford Public Library starting February 24 through March 9. The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) uses the Heart Gallery's remarkable professional portraits and stories about foster children in Indiana to help put a face on a sometimes invisible need and remind families that adoption can change lives. There is no charge to see the Gallery.
"On average 100-125 Hoosier kids need adoptive homes because they were removed from abusive or neglectful situations," said Sandra Caesar, DCS' adoption program manager. "Every child needs a family they can call their own. We need families that are not only willing to love our children, but are also prepared to commit to them, claim them as their own and hang in there through their ups and downs."
Nationally, nearly 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 medical needs. For some foster kids, getting adopted can mean the difference between homelessness or incarceration and transitioning successfully to adulthood.
Additional Adoption Links and Information
The Heart Gallery is a traveling photographic exhibit the Indiana Department of Child Services created in 2007 to help find forever families for children in foster care. Venues generally include hospitals, libraries, museums and churches. There are more than 120 Heart Galleries across the U.S. and the exhibits have resulted in more than 5,000 children around the country finding adoptive families. With help from the Heart Gallery, more than 1,000 Hoosier foster kids found forever homes in state fiscal year 2014.
About Indiana Department of Child Services:
The Indiana Department of Child Services (www.in.gov/dcs) protects children from abuse and neglect and works to ensure the financial support of children. Indiana Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline: (800) 800-5556. Child Support Customer Service Kidsline: (800) 840-8757 or (317) 233-5437.
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