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Upcoming Tilly's Baby Home First Anniversary Garners Visit and Recognition by U.S. Congressman
The innovative Tilly's Baby Home will be celebrating its first anniversary in August as the latest addition to the Girls and Boys Town of Southern California Residential Family Services campus in Trabuco Canyon. As this milestone date approaches, U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA, 29th Dist.) paid a special visit on June 3 to the Trabuco campus as part of his longstanding involvement in issues affecting at-risk youth.
Representative Schiff toured the facilities and spent time with the children, who prepared lunch, demonstrated and discussed the skills they are learning at the facility, and engaged in questions and conversation with him. He also received firsthand, from both residents and staff, their perspectives on the kinds of programs that are generating exemplary results from the care provided in an environment like Girls and Boys Town of Southern California. Conversation between the Congressman and youth covered a wide range of topics including important things he has learned since becoming a legislator, challenges he sees in youth care programs, his experiences as a federal prosecutor, how he became interested in public service, what he does as a Congressman, and how visiting Girls and Boys Town of Southern California would help him learn more about what is really important in helping kids. A special highlight of the visit was a tour of the Tilly's Baby Home, an innovative approach to maintaining unity in a family-style environment. Often siblings are split up when they are removed from their homes, which can be a very traumatic event. The Tilly's Baby Home is designed to accommodate siblings in order to remove that negative factor and thereby improve not only the children's happiness but their chances for success in the Girls and Boys Town program. Representative Schiff is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and has developed a series of initiatives called "Kids First" to improve education, safety and healthcare for children. Most recently, he introduced the Fostering Our Future Act to improve outcomes in the foster care system. And he has accepted an invitation to join the Girls and Boys Town of Southern California's Honorary Board. Return to the Table of Contents |