November is National Adoption Month. It’s a month for bringing attention to issues surrounding adoption. For example, there is a great demand for foster-to-adopt families in our community. This need is particularly high among teens, sibling sets, and LGBTQ+ youth currently living in foster care.

Each November we commemorate this special month by honoring our Family of the Year. This year we recognize the Reed family.  Mandy and Robert Reed came to Stanford Sierra Youth & Families wanting to adopt a younger child. They changed their minds when they met Brianna, who was 13 years old at the time. Inspired by Brianna’s capabilities, Mandy and Robert eventually became certified to provide intensive services foster care in order to meet Briana’s needs. The process became a true family affair, as the Reed’s extended family got involved too!

Mandy and Robert worked hard to build a trusting relationship with Brianna. They love and accept her for she who she is while supporting her efforts to be the best version of herself that she can be. Mandy and Robert respect Brianna’s ties to her birth family.  They’ve cultivated a welcoming home, where Brianna is free to discuss her feelings about adoption. They let Brianna choose her adopted name too. Working closely with Stanford Sierra staff, the Reeds make sure all of Brianna’s needs are met. After only 10 months of placement, they became a forever family on October 28, 2022. Today, we celebrate the Reed family!

Please tune in to celebrate with us the presentation of our Family of the Year.

The child welfare system is intended to keep children safe. When we take them into the protective custody of foster care we make an implicit promise to take care of them until they can reunify; and if they can’t, help them find permanency through adoption. But thousands of California children are still waiting, sometimes spending years in foster care and aging out of the system without the safety net of a permanent family.

Do you have room in your heart and home for a waiting child?