HOLLYGROVE FAMILY FINDING PROGRAM FEATURED IN WALL STREET JOURNAL

Hollygrove’s family finding program was featured on the front page of the August 23rd Wall Street Jounal. The article showcases Linda Librizzi’s work on behalf of Tony Ruiz, who lived at Hollygrove as a young boy having been placed in foster care at the age of 3.

Linda’s steadfast commitment to finding a loving family for Tony exemplifies Hollygrove’s mission: to do whatever it takes to transform the lives of LA’s most vulnerable kids.

"I just want to have a family," Tony told Judy Smith, a volunteer court advocate and the only person who had known him for any length of time. Fearing Tony wouldn't live to see adulthood, Ms. Smith turned to Linda Librizzi, a sleuth of sorts who locates the lost relatives of foster children.

A longtime licensed clinical social worker, 53-year-old Ms. Librizzi is on the vanguard of a growing revolution in child welfare: She is a "family finder." Thanks to computer search technology, social workers have for the first time a powerful tool to locate the family members of "cold cases," children who spend years moving from foster home to foster home until their biological families' whereabouts are unknown.

Without government funding, your continued support is critical to the success of the Hollygrove family finding program. Donate here.

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